One should consider it a fool’s errand to disregard the convergence of Jazz and Classical music throughout the 20th and 21st Centuries. There was a time in the United States where one work by one composer could be heard both at Carnegie Hall, and at The Village Vanguard. With the evolution of Jazz and Classical music taking place in much the same place and time, it was inevitable that the two genre’s would form an intersectionality that would have lasting effects on both musics for decades to follow.
It is important to acknowledge the history’s of both Classical and Jazz Music. Classical Music is deeply rooted in the religious tradition of Europe starting in the Medieval Era, evolving through the Renaissance, eventually manifesting into the Common Practice Period starting in 1600. Jazz Music, on the other hand, is rooted in the fusion of African and European musical sensibilities. Starting with Ragtime, which became popular around 1895 in the United States, is widely believed to be the first example of a “Jazz” aesthetic. A common misconception of the two genres is that of form—Classical being structured, and Jazz being formless. Liesa Karen Norman writes on the subject:
“It is a misconception to think of classical music as synonymous with form and jazz music as synonymous with formlessness. Both genres found initial favor with particular forms, which were expanded as the decades progressed and in some instances, such as with the avant garde movement, in the 1940's and 50's were dropped altogether.”
While the importance of the African rhythm section and Afro-Cuban influences cannot be overlooked, the development of ragtime was instrumental in the evolution of Jazz as an American Music. Ragtime was both influenced by the European Tradition of string band and brass band march compositions, and by the slave song tradition developing in the United States. The slave song tradition itself is derived from the call-and-response idioms from West Africa. One could argue that it was at this time, the beginning of the 20th Century, that both Classical and Jazz music began their parallel evolution in the United States, with much convergence along the way.
It seems appropriate to start with Nadia Boulanger. Boulanger, who was neither an American nor a Jazz musician, was instrumental in developing the culture of composition as a language, genre, and aesthetic—a sentiment that will remain important throughout the 20th Century. Boulanger was a composer and teacher based in Paris, France, who mentored and taught many of the most influential composers of the 20th Century, both in the Classical and Jazz idioms. Some of her notable students include: Elliot Carter, Aaron Copland, Philip Glass, Roy Harris, George Gershwin, and Quincy Jones. While not her student, Igor Stravinsky was known to be in Boulanger’s circle of friends during his time in Paris. Ned Rorem, a former student of Boulanger, wrote in The New York Times in 1982:
“Nadia Boulanger is mainly remembered as a mentor of composers, although she was the guiding light for every breed of musician, not least of all the female musician, and her public career as organist, conductor, musicologist, lecturer and even for a time newspaper critic was unprecedented. Yet were she judged today solely by what ''her composers'' composed while studying with her, her ratings might fall. For every Aaron Copland she championed were dozens of nowforgotten geniuses.”
Here is where we can begin to see the the influence she had on both developing Jazz composers and 20th Century Classical composers.
One might find it prudent, in order to better understand the labyrinth of two incredibly sophisticated genre’s and history’s, to start with a composer who’s work falls into both categories. George Gershwin, student of Boulanger, is one of the most influential composers of the American Music repertoire, of both Classical music and Jazz music. Calling above to the statement in the introduction: “There was a time in the United States where one work’s by one composer could be heard both at Carnegie Hall, and at The Village Vanguard.” This is a scenario that could certainly be applied to Gershwin in New York City during the 20th Century. As he was writing operas, string quartet repertoire, and piano concertos, he was also writing some of the most important songs of the Great American Songbook.
While there is certainly an argument to be made (and truth in it) that Gershwin’s popular songs were undeniably influenced by classical music (see the origins of Jazz as a whole), it would be more fruitful to examine his Classical, or “concert” compositions, namely Rhapsody in Blue, and An American in Paris. While Rhapsody was originally written for solid piano and Jazz Band, it gained large popularity in Classical circles with its orchestration for Symphony Orchestra in 1942. Evidently, the Jazz Band orchestration had had not been recorded until conductor Michael Tilson Thomas performed it in 1976. An American in Paris, inspired by
Gershwin’s time in Paris socializing with Maurice Ravel, and studying with Nadia Boulanger. Unlike Rhapsody, An American in Paris was conceived as a symphonic work, yet draws heavily on Jazz and Popular music elements. Paris can be analyzed in a loose ABA form, beginning with the introduction of two themes, much in the style of Debussy. The B, draws heavily on the jazz and blues sounds of the United States, representing the homesickness one may feel when living in another country. The last A draws heavily on the themes laid out in the first, and the slow blues theme from the B, culminating in an ultimate fusion of both Classical and Jazz aesthetics.
It is important, at this time, to return to the philosophy of genre as an aesthetic. An argument could be made that Gershwin was simply incredibly skilled in understanding and writing in the languages of Jazz and Classical music. However, one might find it more interesting to simply process that Gershwin was a skilled composer—not of just Classical music, or of Jazz, but instead a skilled composer of music. It may be evident throughout the listening experience of Rhapsody or Paris that Gershwin’s decision-making regarding style is less about “flexing” his compositional “muscles”, and more about expressing style as an aesthetic, and less of a category. While this Gershwin example may be “on-the-nose”, this phenomenon can be examined in other composer’s music as well.
One of the other composers to incorporate a Jazz aesthetic into his music was Igor Stravinsky. Stravinsky is lauded as one of the most important and influential composers of the 20th Century, making large strides in the area of allowing Classical music to evolve beyond traditional sounds and forms. Much like Gershwin (but to a lesser known extent), Stravinsky dipped his toe into the world of Jazz Composition. Notably, his Rag compositions and his Ebony Concerto. Patrick Jarenwattananon, a columnist for NPR writes:
“Long after he had actually heard live jazz, Stravinsky wrote a piece for the Woody Herman Orchestra, a big band quite popular in its day. The result was a short work called the Ebony Concerto, featuring Herman on clarinet; it premiered in 1945 and was recorded, with Stravinsky conducting, in 1946. In later histories, members of the Herman Orchestra declared their love for Stravinsky's work – "one of our musical Gods," pianist Ralph Burns wrote in the liner notes to the Blowin' Up A Storm compilation – and also mentioned how difficult it was for them, many of whom were not classically trained, to learn the highly technical work.”
Upon listening to Ebony Concerto, it could be said that this endeavor resulted in a “jazzy” classical piece, rather than a true Jazz Composition. However, it seems that Stravinsky’s intent was to deliver a Jazz Composition, but did not have enough of a background in the Jazz repertoire to do so. Stravinsky notably wrote a note to Herman, writing:
“Dear Woody, Please send me some of your finest ‘hits’”.
Somewhat ironically, though, it seems Woody Herman was simply looking for a piece by Stravinsky written for Jazz Orchestra, not a “Jazz Piece”.
The convergence of styles is arguably more apparent in Stravinsky’s ballets, notably The Rite of Spring (French: Le Sacre du printemps). Considered to be Stravinsky’s masterpiece, Rite is certainly not a piece of Jazz music. In fact, it is a staple of the Contemporary Classical Orchestral repertoire. In the development of Stravinsky’s compositional voice, though, parallels can certainly be drawn to the development of Jazz Music in America. Though it is not clear how intentional this was (particularly noting the ambiguity surrounding Stravinsky’s knowledge of Jazz as noted above), it would be shortsighted not to analyze this work through a more contemporary lens, rather than that of the Common Practice. Stravinsky’s penchant for harmonizing diatonic melodies with non-diatonic harmony, or even at some points with polytonal harmony, demonstrates a clear similarity between his music and the music yet to come in the Jazz Tradition. Rite premiered in 1913, decades before many of his techniques could be heard in Jazz compositions.
Through examining these few examples of Classical and Jazz crossover compositions, we can begin to see where the two traditions converge. And yes, it is only the beginning. In the second half of the 20th Century, the 50 years following the compositions discussed above, there was an insurgence of music deemed “Third Stream Music”. At the helm of this movement, was the acclaimed composer, conductor, and professor, Gunther Schuller. Through his influence in the musical world, particularly as the head of the Third Stream Music program at the New England Conservatory, the intersection of Classical and Jazz music has expanded wider and wider ever since. If one views history as a trend, it could be inferred that the two core musical traditions in the United States will continue to crossover, and each evolve with the success of the other.
Sources:
Banks, Don. “Third-Stream Music.” Proceedings of the Royal Musical Association, vol. 97, no. 1, 1970, pp. 59–67., doi:10.1093/jrma/97.1.59.
“French Neoclassicism and the New Modern American Music.” University of Michigan Press, 2012, pp. 72–94. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv3znzqf.10. Accessed 21 June 2020.
Jarenwattananon, Patrick. “Why Jazz Musicians Love 'The Rite Of Spring'.â€Â NPR, NPR, 26 May 2013, www.npr.org/sections/deceptivecadence/2013/05/26/186486269/why-jazz- musicians-love-the-rite-of-spring.
Norman, Liesa Karen. “THE RESPECTIVE INFLUENCE OF JAZZ AND CLASSICAL MUSIC ON EACH OTHER, THE EVOLUTION OF THIRD STREAM AND FUSION AND THE EFFECTS THEREOF INTO THE 21s t CENTURY.â€Â University of British Columbia, University of British Columbia, 2002.
Rorem, Ned. “THE COMPOSER AND THE MUSIC TEACHER.â€Â The New York Times, The New York Times, 23 May 1982, www.nytimes.com/1982/05/23/books/the- composer-and-the-music-teacher.html.
Slowik, Michael. “Dislocation and Nostalgia: Jazz and Classical Music in Hollywood Postwar Readjustment Films, 1946–1949.” Music and the Moving Image, vol. 11, no. 2, 2018, p. 3., doi:10.5406/musimoviimag.11.2.0003.