The Jazz Voice: A Hymnic Projection--The attempt to tap into previously unused resources is great, as are the points abotu hte influence of the jazz voice as giving individuals the power to speak out, reach out, act and situation of power in the individual actor.

Jazz Music Therapy--This was a very interesting presentation. I highly enjoyed the discussion of previous studies in music therapy and was suprised that there had not been more done in the area. It seems you have simplified a highly expansive and large study, keeping the budget almost rediculously reasonable. If you wanted to pursue this I could not imagine how you would be unable to find funding.

Jazz and Sports Integration: I was surprised by the connections between sports and jazz that you pointed out, particularly what you said about how baseball is like jazz improvisation. I particularly like the idea of the collection of oral histories which seem to be devalued in our society, but represent a significant and untapped part of scholarship.

Jazz and Identity:

I thought you had a great start. I have a few questions that might be helpful to answer for your proposal: How much involvement do you see from the advisor? Can an advisor take a role in identity development? How exactly does this work? Should they? Is it possible to develop identity with the instruction of an advisor?

 

I’m curious about the selection of five years as a grouping point for musicians. It seems that you’d want to allow that a new musician and a musician with four years experience could be in a different group. How about asking the participants to select a proficiency level and grouping them accordingly.  

 

Does/can music constitute identity or must it necessarily flow from or in dialogue with an extant identity?

 

Women and Jazz:

Your presentation was excellent and the field seems desperately in need of more research. It might be a really nice addendum to collect and record musical performances if you can find some – particularly if you can make them accessible to the rest of us.

 

I think I heard you say at one point that the perception was that women performed for men, underneath males. The body in a sense became a currency for the jazzwoman seeking to play in a role perceived as masculine. I think this area might also be able to use some theoretical development. It’s a great kernel to start. I also wonder if there’s a difference in the perception of commodification between America and Europe during the period.

 

Jazz in education:

Your approach sounds innovative. I wish my musical class had looked like that – when I learned to play the recorder, I think I learned Mary Had a Little Lamb. Scat could have made the class a lot more fun.

Identity Formation: I appreciated the group’s proposal because I can see it functioning effectively in the public school system here in Los Angeles.  Music and Arts are important in Los Angeles schools, although I know there is an omni-present sense that the school board will one day completely eliminate the programs.  Perhaps a proposal such as this would inspire the negation of such talk.  Being a theological student myself, I of course appreciated Jeremy’s discussion of Judith Butler, but I also appreciated hearing about the five stages of development, something I had never learned about before.  This group’s presentation really highlighted the benefits of transdisciplinary work.

 

Jazz and Middle School Education: I was extremely captivated by this group’s proposal because I believe it would be an extremely successful way in which to re-invigorate creativity in middle school aged students.  I remember when my little brother was a middle school student, he first began showing interests in musical instruments, expressing a desire to use music as his creative outlet. I can just sooooo see how a program such as this would have been helpful to his success as a student and also as a musician.  The proposed use of scat in the classroom, I found really innovative.  Also, providing assignments for the students in which they essentially conduct independent musical research I thought was brilliant and would assist in heightening their comfortability with research, working individually, but also collaboratively. Brilliant and well thought out! 

Michele Finazzo

I echo the previous bloggers' apologies for not posting this last week. I thought it was due the day before class.

Jazz Women: 

This group did a great job showing the dearth of information on the role that women played in the early history of jazz. Moreover, there seems to be very small amount of scholarship or even accounts of who some of these women were and this group’s dedication to recording these histories is commendable. The choice of topic is both insightful and commonsensical at the same time. I really enjoyed this presentation.

Jazz in Middle School: 

This group’s project was innovative and it will be interesting to see the results of this study. I think this project has a great chance of being funded and for some reason I felt  like it would make a great PBS documentary. It is important to get children of all ages involved in music and I felt it was entirely appropriate to focus on the often neglected middle schoolers.  

Identity Construction:

This group employed a more scientific approach to their project examining the relationship of identity and music. From a personal perspective I loved that you used Judith Butler (one of my favorites) and used her theory of identity construction. This is another project that could easily be filmed and broadcast on PBS. It seems to me this project will be successful in proportion to the degree that the students are silenced. In other words, giving a student a voice will be more powerful when the student lacks a voice in the first place. This is a positive contribution to scholarship. 

Whoops, didnt realize these were due until today. Hope this is still acceptable:

Identity Formation:  I really liked the group's multidisciplinary approach through music education.  I think music can be a very powerful tool in helping teenagers develop their identity.  I think the creation of jazz groups, rather than focusing on individual players, is great for teenagers too, and part of what makes jazz such a communal art.  I also liked the theoretical discussion of Judith Butler's theory of identity construction.

Jazz Women of the Mid 20th Century:  This topic was fascinating to me because I knew so little about female jazz musicians (outside of singers like Holliday), and to hear there was such a big tradition that is relatively unknown was shocking.  I really think this group should continue their project and I hope they get the funding for it because it is a necessary piece of history that could be lost without proper archiving.

Jazz Improvisation (sorry I didnt get the exact title of this group down):  Much like the first group, I really liked the musical education approach of this group.  I think the journal reflections will be very beneficial for the students.  I also liked how this group incorporated hip-hop into the jazz tradition.  I think that is an important connection for the youth of today.

Apparently I posted this in the wrone place originally!  Sorry!

Using Jazz as a Vehicle for Self Discovery -  Jeremy, Alex, Jill

 

I was very interested in the hands-on approach of this group.  Their idea to gather high school students of varying levels of musical experience and talent, and to actually meet with these students, inspire them with students, while, at the same time learning from the students who will also serve as a focus group.

 

But at the same time, the group is not afraid to move beyond the hands on interaction with students, but also astutely uses the identity theory of Judith Butler who, according to the group, “begins with the idea that identity is culturally constructed”; as well as Erikson’s theories of late adolescent psychological development, and Marcia’s four statuses of adolescence.  Particularly the identity aspect of the group’s project feels directly inspired by the autobiographies that became such a major focus of this course.  And yet, the group never lost sight of the students they hope to inspire and learn from, quickly moving back again from theory to Jazz performance, which the students will be engaging in, as formation (I assume of talent as well as of identity, but this wasn’t entirely clear to me).

 

The group also looked at “Performance, Identity and Gender.”  Here they did an excellent job of drawing on previous studies on the percentage of female students in high school bands versus high school jazz ensembles.  As part of their project they plan to encourage male and female gender equality in jazz.

   

Jazzwomen: Gender and Representation - Sharone, Michelle, Fanny, Karen Beth

 

“African American jazzwomen in images, documentary film footage, and radio broadcast produced by the government.”

 

This group’s questions about government-sites, gender, and commodification of women involved in the jazz world is interesting in its transdiciplinary collaboration, which emphasizes a realistic approach to a subject which, though it has broached academia, is primarily explored in the world outside of academia, as Sharone pointed out.

 

Karen Beth discussed the idea of women in Jazz as adornment and sexual objects rather than as musicians.  I wonder where those female singers who were obese fit in to this equation.  It seems that, at least some of the time, women (those who are not particularly sexually appealing) were included in jazz groups for their singing talents alone. 

 

Fanny’s look at all female jazz bands was very surprising to me.  I had no idea that there were “close to a hundred” female jazz bands.  I particularly enjoyed the youtube video of the International Sweethearts of Rhythm from 1946.  I was struck by how strange the scene looked, particularly the female band leader, which is something that is still relatively rare today.

 

Experience Jazz in the Middle School Language Arts Classroom – Jukyung, Gene, Katheryne, Karen, Melissa

 

Goals of Achievement, Engagement, Self-Expression, Acceptance/Respect of Diversity

 

With this group I was again impressed and excited by the focus on real world, hands on engagement with students.  The group obviously came from a place of classroom experience, but also had the wherewithal to see potential beyond what has classically been experienced in classrooms, and instead combining typical instruction with one class period of musical instruction. Something that was different from the first educationally-based group we heard from was this group’s use of control groups which would not have the musical instruction.  

 

I was very intrigued by the combination of musical training with the use of journals.  In my own writing classrooms I have certainly found that having a theme or focus in writing prompts makes a big difference. This semester, for instance, my classes are focused on nature and environmentalism.  I love the idea of focusing a writing class, even a non-creative writing class, on the idea of creativity.  I found Katheryne’s sample prompts particularly interesting.

Identity and Formation: The idea to study the identity formation was very interesting. In particular, the experience of working with the children will produce interesting results. Many children are not exposed to music in schools, in particular, the jazz. They will be able to learn and identify themselves with some of the jazz musicians and possibly make some connection with the hip-hop as well. Gender and Jazz:  I liked to see how organized and prepared was the group and the energy they put into this project. I believe that this course could incorporate the study and the role played for women in jazz music into the next classes. Jazz and Education: The curriculum timeline presented by the group is very consistent. The example of the improvisation with the feet and hands given by Melissa was very interesting and many students might become interested by music.  I wish a happy thanksgiving for all!  Leandro

Identity Formation:  The opportunity for teens to participate in an extra curricular performance based adventure of self-discovery and personal development through self-expression, is exactly what high school students are hungry for in this systematic "teach to the test" educational age.  I believe this proposal will receive increasingly positive attention from funding sources due to its extreme affordability in combination with its tremendously high level of perceived contribution both to the knowledge base and more importantly to the lives of each impressionable participant.  Using jazz music as a means to strengthen and reveal individuality in an era of increasing conformity is an excellent concept which must be pursued with fervor- My friends, I think you're on to something BIG! 

Gender and Jazz:  Ladies!  This archival proposal completely captivated me with its clear focus and its detailed spectrum of coverage.  Before your presentation, our group was just discussing how we were dissatisfied with the lack of representation of female musicians associated with jazz music, specifically instrumentalists.  I especially enjoyed your identification  of the "all girl" bands, however I was shocked that there seemed to be only one book on the subject.  What a crime.  Your proposal effectively identified the necessity for the compilation of a collective data base, not to mention the need for dramatically increased publications regarding  female experiences and their contributions to the history of jazz.  I can just see the beautiful coffee table edition- fully illustrated complete with companion interactive DVD.  As an amateur archivist myself, I was additionally intrigued by the "thrill of the chase," which I believe awaits you ladies from coast to coast as you devote yourself to this heroic endeavor.  Please keep us posted on your progress, and great luck to you.        

 

Jazz and Gender

The entire presentation was an amazing amount of work and the proposal was something that I know will both impact and benefit the community of Jazz and the women who dedicated their lives to it. I was extremely intrigued by the idea of Images. Images are powerful vehicles of expression and I left understanding the magnitude of the proposal primarily due to the images presented during class. I was interested in the commodification of sexuality and the images of Ethel Water, Gladys Bentley and Josephine Baker. I was also intrigued at the groups desire to investigate how the singers internalized colorism and the potentially the depiction of colorism and the litany of issues that go along with that as represented through the images the group hopes to uncover. I hope that are able to achieve their goals and continue on with their investigation! This is not only a proposal presentation but should render itself into a book!

Music and Jazz in Urban Schools

I enjoyed listening to the Music and Jazz in Urban Schools group and was interested in how they would help students increase their writing skills with music. I also enjoyed the fact that they will have a Jazz Musician who would work directly with an English Teacher to create a program based on the balance of music and literature. I think it would be very interesting to include writings, readings and music that center on or around student interest to further integrate a student into the learning that the group intends to develop. Overall it was interesting and insightful! Thanks for sharing your ideas with us.

“Identity Formation:” The study proposed by the Identity Formation group is quite interesting. I think it has great potential to provide useful data, and perhaps lead to greater awareness of the essential connections between identity formation and the arts. I would caution the group against the somewhat arbitrary study groups of players with 0 to less than 5 years experience and players with 5 or more years of experience. I would suggest they consult with music teachers with experience in teaching jazz, particularly improvisational jazz, at all levels, before solidifying what research groups they would like to use. A musician with 5 years of playing experience, but no improvisational experience, is at a vastly different level than a player with 4 years of experience that has had improvisational training integrated into his learning from the beginning. Also, I feel it would be a mistake to group students with four years of playing experience with students just beginning on their instruments. With the amount of classroom time scheduled, so much of the instructional time would be spent just trying to get those students playing five or six notes by the end of the semester, that more advanced students would be sorely lacking in challenge and instructional time.

“Jazzwomen of Mid-Century America:” Great topic! It is evident from your proposal that many holes exist in the study of jazzwomen, as well as in women’s participation in jazz.

“The Effect of Improvisational Jazz Music on Middle School Language Arts Creative Expression:” It is such a shame that this jazz integrated curriculum has not yet been implemented. This would be, if carried out, an invaluable contribution to our understanding of the effects of jazz improvisation on other modes of creativity and hopefully contribute to a move toward change in the subject-segregated educational system that is currently implemented in public schools.