Letter from the Editor

Abstract

As we approach the start of 2017, the jazz world is about to celebrate an important milestone. I refer, of course, to the 100th anniversary of the “first jazz recording” made by the Original Dixieland Jass Band (ODJB) in February of that year. Such an event is sure to be marked by performances, recordings, essays, lectures, and the like. But as most jazz historians understand, the claim of the ODJB session as the “first” example of recorded jazz is open to debate. During the years following the release of this record, spirited discussions were held in the popular press about just what jazz was, what it meant and what the future held for it. Debating the origins and nature of jazz is thus nothing new, and Jazz Perspectives is pleased to continue to be an important venue for this ongoing discourse. In this issue of Jazz Perspectives, we present four original, diverse articles which draw from very different topics and approaches to the study of jazz. Fritz Schenker’s essay addresses the topic of Balkan influence in jazz in the late Cold War era. Schenker situates jazz’s “Balkan-ness,” as heard in the music of artists such as Dave Douglas, as an expression a particular approach to the incorporation of “world music” that was heavily influenced by an evolving approach to Third Stream music, and which paralleled shifts in global consumer culture during this period. Balkan influenced jazz, Schenker argues, provided many white musicians with a source of racial and ethnic authenticity that served as something of an alternative to African American cultural sources. Our second article, written by Doug Abrams, presents a highly detailed analysis of the “Monkishness” of Thelonious Monk’s compositions, focusing on the classic composition “Ruby, My Dear.” Abrams suggests that elements of Monk’s music which have often been characterized as “weird” or eccentric are, in fact, constructed through a highly logical process. With a focus on the analysis of pitch class sets, Abrams asks us to reconsider common conceptions about Monk’s music, and provides a rich theoretical framework with which to examine deep structures in jazz composition. Casey Hale, in his study of interpretations of Curtis Mayfield’s songs, similarly provides a deep, penetrating look at particular musical moments. Hale focuses on the work of bassist William Parker and his recording The Inside Songs of Curtis Mayfield, examining Parker’s collaborations with Amiri Baraka in particular. Hale’s close reading of the music and texts of this project reveals the ways in which the artists sought to link past and present discourses of racial identity and unity through Mayfield’s music. In the final article in this issue, Andrew Sanchirico examines the intellectual heritage of the neo-classicist movement. Sanchirico traces the lineage of what he refers to as Jazz Perspectives, 2015 Vol. 9, No. 3, 215–216, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17494060.2015.1259672