Constructing the meaning of early jazz, 1917–1930

Rap, Race and the (Re)Production of Boundaries

“…Jazz's incorporation of musical elements derived from both high and popular culture threatened the stability of recently institutionalized boundaries that marked the distinction between these two sources and forms of culture (DiMaggio 1982;Levine 1988). As a result, much of the contention over jazz was shaped by the alleged effects it would have on the aesthetic standards of classical music (Appelrouth 2003(Appelrouth , 2011.…”

“…Whatever the effects jazz was said to have, it was white, urban listeners who would be subject to its hypnotic rhythms. Jazz symbolized not a subversion of institutionally entrenched racial boundaries but the more permeable class and status boundaries separating WASP America from the nation's working-class ethnic "inferiors" (Appelrouth 2003). With the Civil Rights movement, however, black Americans mounted a sustained and coordinated attack on institutionalized racism.…”

“…In studies exploring a range of areas from literature (Beisel 1992;Chong 2011;Corse and Griffin 1997;Griswold 1987), art (Beisel 1993;DiMaggio 1982DiMaggio , 1992, and music (Appelrouth 2003(Appelrouth , 2005Bryson 1996;DeNora 1991;Roy 2004;Schmutz 2009), to sports (Bourdieu 1991), science (Gaziano 1996;Gieryn 1999), political culture (Alexander and Smith 1993), and racial and class identities (Kefalas 2003;Lamont 1992Lamont , 2000Lamont and Aksartova 2002), scholars have explored how "differences" within and between cultural practices are constructed and how such differences construct, reinforce, or challenge social identities. Yet aligning a particular practice with a particular identity is often a contentious project, as such assignments are the outcome of discursive struggles to classify and define both the meaning of practices and the identity of those persons associated with them.…”

Freedom and constraint in the empowerment as jazz metaphor

“…For example, Oakes (2003a) compared the newspaper readership of UK jazz and classical music fans, revealing that jazz fans were more likely to read 'liberal' broadsheets, while classical music fans favoured 'conservative' broadsheets. Furthermore, when jazz first came into prominence at the beginning of the 20th century, many observers considered that it was subverting the boundaries of existing musical genres with its frequent use of 'bent' notes and its liberation from musical scores and authoritative conductors (Appelrouth, 2003). Likewise, empowerment allows employees to use their discretion in order to provide superior service without reference to rulebooks or higher authority (Bowen and Lawler, III, 1992).…”

Body and Soul

“…In this way, music serves as a "sonoric surveillance on the body" that symbolically reproduces broader class-based standards that sanction personal discipline and the inhibition of emotional and physical displays (Leppert, 1998). As an improvisational, participatory, and intensely rhythmic music, the bodily appeal of early jazz, thus, represented a threat to the legitimacy of prevailing behavioral and cultural codes (Appelrouth, 2003;Ogren, 1989).…”