A Concentric Model for Jazz History

  • Nathan C Bakkum Columbia College Chicago
Keywords: jazz, ethnography, recording, pedagogy

Abstract

This article proposes an alternative to the historical narratives and learning outcomes undergirding the organization of the majority of modern jazz history courses and textbooks. After outlining the dominant modes of historical and ethnographic writing on jazz, I assert the need for scholars and educators to shift attention away from the objects of jazz history – such as prized recordings, performances, and biographies – and toward interactive processes as the core content of the tradition. Through a sustained consideration of musical process, I ask students to engage with the collective work of improvisers and the subjectivities – of bandleaders, recordists, audiences, and critics –  that inevitably shape their interactive work. This concentric historical model is responsive to the contingent, communal work that defines the jazz community and reflective of the multiple, uneven, non-linear temporal frames that inform historical narratives in the age of recorded sound.

Author Biography

Nathan C Bakkum, Columbia College Chicago
Nathan Bakkum is Assistant Professor of Music at Columbia College Chicago, where he teaches courses in music history and popular music studies and coordinates the department’s offerings in music history, ethnomusicology, and music appreciation. His research explores intersections between processes of interaction, recording, and stylistic change in jazz. He has presented papers at the national meeting of the Society for Ethnomusicology, the Experience Music Project Pop Conference, and other local and national conferences. His most recent article, "Out But In: Between Discourse and Practice in a London Jazz Quartet" is included in the Summer 2013 issue of the Black Music Research Journal. 
Published
2015-03-18
Section
Articles