In 1926: living at the edge of time - Monoskop

JAZZ 123
sake. Our age seeks art not in expression, not in form, but in matter
permeated with rhythm" (ibid.).
With flamboyant unpretentiousness and consistently heavy sexual
connotations, the titles of many jazz recordings [see Gramophones] emphasize
matter-especially food, which is to be relished: "Fat Meat and
Greens," "Droppin' Shucks," "Mr. Jelly Lord," "Clarinet Marmalade,"
"Hot Mustard," "Cornet Chop Suey." These titles, as well as the name
of one of the most famous jazz musicians, Jelly Roll Morton, indicate a
preference for soft, only faintly structured types of food. This mirrors
the prevailing perception of jazz as a music "without beginning or end,"
as a dynamic form that dissolves all traditional forms of culture. At the
same time, these titles and names refer to the rich, spicy dishes of the
American South, where jazz originates-though the most active performers
and composers have moved north, mainly to Chicago (Fordham,
18f£.). In Chicago, jazz occupies center stage at some of the city's most
popular entertainment palaces, such as Lincoln Gardens, and its sound
is being lightened and polished by young white musicians, such as Benny
Goodman, Bix Beiderbecke, and Gene Krupa. But above all, jazz has
become the music of the speakeasies, where liquor is illegally sold and
consumed during the years of Prohibition. [see Bars]
Fans and cultural critics mostly perceive jazz as the collective product
of a band behind which individual musicians tend to disappear: "Jazz
[is] largely an ensemble music, with improvisations being mostly a matter
of texture and embroidery rather than the streams of spontaneous new
melody" (Fordham, 21). A bold decision by the Chicago bandleader Joe
"King" Oliver breaks the rules according to which such ensembles are
constituted. He integrates young Louis Armstrong as a second cornet
player into his Creole Band, and this move triggers a development that
transforms jazz from a group product into a medium of unpredictable
improvisation and individuality: "Armstrong was ... doubling the number
of notes he would squeeze into a bar, and sounding them at unequal
lengths and with unpredictable emphasis. The music began to take on a
tidal ebb and swell rather than the raglike rocking time that had gone
before. He also seemed to build his improvisations over longer stretches,
like miniature narratives." [see Individuality vs. Collectivity, Individuality
= Collectivity (Leader)] Some musicians who work within the tradition
of serious concert performance, such as Igor Stravinsky and Paul
Hindemith, proudly admit that they integrate "elements of jazz" into