Snapshot - Jazz Now/Jazz from the GDR

Hans Rempel (1980)

Jazz in Europe

Jazz is being played in Europe nowadays quite as a matter of course. Yet this very fact is in itself a contradiction in that European jazz musicians are performing in a field which is dictated and motivated to a large extent by Afro-American musical tradition, even though it is true that some characteristics of this type of music derive from European musical tradition. Both this self-evident and this contradictory aspect of the performance of jazz in Europe can be explained by interrelationships which extend far beyond the field of jazz, by development whose dimensions encompass not only musical but also and indeed to a greater extent cultural, social, and political spheres. A number of aspects of this manifold, self-contradictory complex of varying, frequently nonparallel processes will now be dealt with which relate directly to the overall situation characterising twentieth century music in Europe. Within this framework the presentation of specific aspects must perforce be limited in approach. It is furthermore not possible to differentiate here certain concepts (for example "jazz", "Europe", "non-European", etc.), a differentiation which would in fact be essential, were a thorough treatment of the subject matter to be undertaken. These concepts are today far too generalised and perhaps inadequate in view of the extreme differentiation of the social and stylistic profile of various jazz styles and the sharply differentiated, heterogeneous historical development which has taken place on European soil throughout the twentieth century, a development characterised by the coexistence of divergent economic and social systems, varying social customs and national traditions, etc. It is nevertheless true that these many divergences and contradictions stem from a common long-term historical development, a fact which seems to somewhat justify the use of these concepts at a highly generalised level.

The indigenous development of music in Europe over the course of the nineteenth century was characterized by the gradual displacement of the classic musical concept of the Viennese School by musical counter-currents of various kinds, coupled with the fading of a central, generally accepted bourgeois ideal. Division of labour, specialisation, and the uneven distribution of wealth within the capitalist system gave rise to social divergences and hence to divergences in the field of music which found expression in the existence of so-called "serious" music on the one hand and "popular" music on the other typified by varying life styles, musical styles, musical elements, and modes of musical expression. Even composers tended to favour the one or the other type. The fact that there was no common musical ground led in some instances to conceptual narrowness and technical inadequacies. This was true above all in the field of popular music, where the attractiveness and the pressure of the market led to the production of works of increasingly poorer quality. In the field of serious music divergent developments set in towards the end of the nineteenth and above all in the beginning of the twentieth century. The originally commendable practice of preserving musical tradition under the banner of traditionalism gave way to institutional conservatism and to a cultural concept of musical life characterised by reactionary, repressive traits and aimed at hindering and suppressing progressive efforts of renewal and revitalisation, efforts arising from the realisation that these outlived phenomena which were blocking musical and social progress had to be eliminated.

The divergences at social, historical, and musical (technical and stylistic) levels created a situation in which interchange and communication between the two types of music and their consumers, the latter for the most part interested in one type to the exclusion of the other, became extremely difficulty if not impossible. The contradictions which arose out of these divergences continue to dictate musical composition and the music industry to a large extent.

This development within Europe, which has brought forth complex and highly differentiated musical products but which is also burdened with shortcomings, biases, and apparently unsolvable contradictions, was impinged on during the course of the twentieth century by a number of disturbances, or influences. This complex, in part discontinuous process of influence became increasingly intense and eventually led to the production of works of a new quality. Indeed, this process is still under way. It has now taken on cultural-historical dimensions, and its impact on the various spheres of specifically European music manifests itself in terms of historical, ethnic, geographical, social, political, and stylistic aspects as well as in terms of instrumentation, performance, etc., all of which exert either a stronger or weaker influence, if any, in the individual case. The various factors of influence stem from sources outside traditional musical practice, primarily from non-European cultures - East and Southeast Asia, India, Africa, etc. - and also from east and southeast European folk and proletarian traditions. Jazz music falls within this broad category but assumes a special role. This music is, as mentioned, predominantly Afro-American in character but possesses integrated elements of European origin. In other words, jazz, which originated outside of Europe, is in essence a mixture of elements derived from two traditions (African and European). In European jazz music we now find, in addition to African elements, the latter emphasized to a greater or lesser extent in various jazz styles, also originally European elements (already in broken, transformed form) functioning as factors of influence.

Influences from various non-European areas have made themselves felt in Europe at different times and with varying intensity in a long-lasting, deeply penetrating manner. There are musical products in which non-European influences have had only sporadic, superficial impact, works in which such influences play a major role, and works in which the European aspect has been fully covered over, if not completely eliminated. Examples of the first group are to be found primarily in the (composed) new music of Europe, examples of the last group in certain categories of popular music in which above all North American (rock and soul music) and Latin-Afro-American elements predominate, although European elements did play a minor role in the early development of this music. The influence of non-European music on European music is by no means fully articulate. In most cases only individual components (instrumental sound, metre, melody) have become integrated. During the twenties and the early thirties, furthermore, watered-down products were adapted by composers from Europe, who allowed them selves to be influenced by weak derivatives of classical jazz. However, the adaptation of such products must not necessarily be judged negatively, since only the new context into which it is integrated can give testimony as to the value a musical work possesses.

In nearly all instances influence "from without" is subject to a general restriction. The non-European types of music are part and parcel of frequently entirely different historical developments involving exogenous social customs and means of articulation and expression. Their inclusion in a specifically European musical tradition, a musical environment indigenous to Europe and shaped by specific historical, ethnic, social, economic, and cultural processes, implies transformation of the foreign object itself, whose elements become modified and variegated and are given new meaning. This also explains to a large extent the influence exerted on non similar musical categories, examples being the influence of non European cult music on European popular music, that of non-European serious music on European dance music and that of non-European folk music on European chamber music. Having been integrated into a different historical framework (on a partial, element-wise basis rather than in their entirety), the non-European musical categories become stripped of those immanently social components which could hinder the process of adaptation. This is also typical of jazz adaptation. European jazz musicians are unable to grasp one of the most essential characteristics of jazz, namely, its indissoluble link with a specifically American ethnic group, the Afro-American minority, who live in ghettos and are subjected not only to economic but also to racial discrimination within the capitalistic systems. It is in particular the blues, the very heart and essence of Afro-American music, which escapes the comprehension of the European jazz musician.

Considerable divergences frequently resulted from attempts by European musicians to make use of non-European material, mainly because of their failure to sufficiently comprehend the emotional content and the aesthetic principles characterizing the foreign material involved. In many instances only a surface reflection of the non-European music, an adaptation reduced to illustrative exoticism, was achieved, a full comprehension of the music's real message being (in the beginning) impossible. Such musical fads are not to be treated lightly, however, since they often constitute an initial (necessary) step towards understanding another culture and appreciating its music and modes of expression. It must, of course, be stressed that even with the most complete knowledge of facts and relationships and with deep penetration into the emotional sphere of a strange culture, many peculiarities and specificities of that culture cannot be grasped.

Until well into the twentieth century contacts with non-European cultures were for the most part indirect and nearly always a natural result of imperialistic colonial policy. Seldom was there voluntary inter-exchange on the basis of mutual respect. Jazz also developed within a situation such as this, one created by the traffic in slaves from Africa to America and characterized by the reciprocal influence of African and European culture on American soil. The relationship of dependency of the colonized people, and the suppression under which they were held led to the complete disregard and misunderstanding of their forms of social organization and their cultural and artistic expression. European bourgeois values and cultural norms were uncritically accepted without differentiation as the absolute means by which to judge the music of these peoples. This led in consequence to a number of fatal misunderstandings and misjudgements (not seldom racially tinged), and it was only relatively late that the realization set in that the use of means based on centralized European ways of thinking to judge non-European musical products could only fall to serve the purpose. Developing sporadically and more or less by happenstance out of this forced contact were various counter-currents which in the course of the twentieth century took on social and political character, expressed musically by the intrusion of non-European forms of musical expression which contrasted sharply with European practices and attacked the existing musical structure from the "back" and from "below", so to speak.

This complex consisting of various factors of disturbance, or influence, became active wherever biases, gaps, and inadequacies had characterized European development and opened the way to the assimilation of assumingly interesting exogenous materials and ways of thinking. Thus the possibility of being influenced became at the same time a need, namely, the need to integrate these factors of influence, seen as positive impulses, into partially stagnated European development. In the course of this process some branches of popular music were replaced by non-European types of music; in other branches the factors of influence, or disturbance, functioned as catalysts, breaking of incrustations which were hampering various European lines of development. On the other hand the products of progressive (composed) new music in Europe, although somewhat affected have not been disturbed to any great extent, since they draw their substance, their viability, and their justification from the struggle with the traditional bourgeois cultural concept and the desire to overcome conservative and reactionary phenomena. The factors of disturbance have, however, helped to sharpen self-criticism, correct mis-developments, and above all signal out more strongly and in sharper relief that which is progressive and positive in this music, that which must be retained and carried forth in European development. The principles of European musical composition have thus not only outlived the process of disturbance, experiencing relatively little influence, but have also themselves functioned as factors of disturbance affecting non-European music (even as non-European cultures exercise impact within Europe). The principles of composition originating in Europe have, in other words, spread throughout the world.

Certain fields of European music are now characterized by works of extreme differentiation, although not in their entirety but rather as regards their individual components. In non-European cultures emphasis lies on varying, frequently alternating, likewise highly differentiated components which are thus suited as potential factors of disturbance suitable to filling gaps in European developments. Relatively simple non-European figurations can also exercise influence by virtue of their strangeness. Melody, for example, was rationalized at a certain point in time in European music by the reduction to two (even though highly modifiable) scales and the fixation of the tone material to twelve tempered semitones to the octave. By virtue of this rationalization, which brought order but also intentional restriction to the art of composition, the harmonic system could develop to its full flowering. At the same time the melodic line in European music lost much of the flexibility- one based on more highly differentiated intervals within the octave, a greater number of scales, instable intonation, quartertones, glissandi, etc. - which has brought it to the peak of its development. The same holds true for timbre, which gradually became reduced in Europe to a homogenous sound.

In non-European cultures, on the other hand, timbre has remained extremely rich, varied, and differentiated. Metre and rhythm have likewise experienced a more complex development outside Europe, although European music based on serial or aleatoric techniques can be extremely complicated rhythmical.

Every type of musical shaping implies selection, specialization, and standardization and likewise limitation and elimination. Thus every type of indigenous music creates its own opposite consisting of elements which were not selected but which can take on concrete musical form when called for by overall social development.

The increasing complexity and complicatedness of musical composition in Europe has all but eliminated the factor of spontaneity. The practice of detailed planning a composition (existing first in the form of a score) has produced a type of musician whose highly perfected craftsmanship is fully dedicated to the tonal realization of the score. These performing musicians relinquish their own creative powers in order to recreate that which the composer has in mind. Their creative impulses (improvising with tones, scales, rhythms) are, in other words, hemmed in or completely throttled. Non-European practice in the field of improvisation thus constitutes an attractive alternative, since it frees and motivates the creative talent of the performing musician. It is true, of course, that improvisation is seldom as spontaneous as is often assumed; it is tied to many traditions, customs, norms, and rules which even the performer is often not aware of. A complete replacement of composed music by methods of improvisation (in order to "free" the performing musician) would be as ill-advised as would be the practice of ignoring improvised music, since such practice could eliminate the compositional foundation (only sporadically and by chance to be satisfied by improvisation) and consequently lead to impoverishment. The coexistence and hence the mutual fructification of both methods thus enriches the entire musical spectrum and constitutes a positive contradiction which fosters musical development.

In this connection jazz plays an important role. Running parallel to the adaptation of non-European material and the release of creative powers via improvisation is the aspect of collectivity which characterizes jazz to a large extent and involves social dimensions. In the ideal case the group performance of jazz encourages to a high degree individual expression which is controlled, influenced, and corrected by the collectivity of the partners. Although hierarchic principles are present in jazz, the permanent rotation of the necessary role of leadership ensures the fair distribution of this role within the group. In this sense a jazz group is both a model and a replica of democratic social groupings.

In that the reaction of the listeners of their music influence the jazz musicians in their playing, the improvisation principle opens up the opportunity of at least partially overcoming the strict separation existing in Europe not only between composer and performer but also between music and its consumers.

Reaction to the inflow of non-European cultures and thought processes to the disturbance "from without" has been varied. Firstly, there is complete rejection by those who continue to maintain a centralistic European attitude characterized by repressive behaviour vis-á-vis foreign influences. Secondly, there are those who would take a more liberal approach, although in the last analysis the result is identical, namely, complete paralysis of the non-European music via commercialization leading to declining quality. Finally, the process of disturbance is felt by some to be proper and necessary, the only question being in what manner the factor of disturbance should become operative. The possibilities range between two extremes, either the integration of individual elements or the copying in totality, and cover all existent and conceivable intermediate steps. The various attempts in Europe to deal with jazz fall within this broad gamut. Jazz elements can be found in new (composed) music, although this practice, being only sporadically adopted, has remained restricted in use. On the other hand American jazz is being copied in its totality, a phenomenon which implies complete negation of indigenous European musical traditions. Although it may appear to be very positive and productive, this practice is in essence very unproductive and implies great dependency and blind faith in the model. Nevertheless, it does have a certain historic function in that it usually constitutes a first step upwards towards a level of higher quality on which non dependency is striven for and indeed partially achieved. In Europe it is at this level that independent jazz variants have taken their place on an equal footing alongside the originally non-European model. As they acquire individuality of their own, these variants will tend to gradually move away from the field of jazz (understood in the original sense of the term). Conversely, sporadic efforts have been and are being made to integrate to some extent the principles of improvised free jazz into compositions based on methods and stylistic elements of new (composed) music. Already existent is a common ground where indigenous European jazz techniques and compositions which have been influenced by jazz meet and already partially overlap. A broadly based, comprehensive synthesis which is indigenous to Europe, one which encompasses both progressive traits from the European past and present and non-European influences (jazz), appears to be in the offing. Even though it is basically possible, it remains for the future to decide whether or not this synthesis will actually come to pass.

Translation: Elizabeth Johnston

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