{"id":6134,"date":"2021-11-15T23:42:08","date_gmt":"2021-11-16T05:42:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/?p=6134"},"modified":"2021-11-15T23:42:08","modified_gmt":"2021-11-16T05:42:08","slug":"jazz-developments-in-rhode-island","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/2021\/11\/15\/jazz-developments-in-rhode-island\/","title":{"rendered":"Jazz Developments in…Rhode Island?"},"content":{"rendered":"

When people think of jazz, places like New Orleans, Chicago, and New York City come to mind \u2014 not a small city of 25,000 in Rhode Island.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Newport Jazz Festival, with its inception in 1954 has been credited as a crucial component in the development of jazz culture in the <\/span>Chicago Defender<\/span><\/i>, by none other than Langston Hughes.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Langston Hughes<\/p><\/div>\n

A participant of a sort of jazz himself, being the creator of \u201c<\/span>jazz poetry<\/span>\u201d (for an example, see this link!<\/a>), Hughes\u2019 take on the Newport Jazz Festival impact on jazz is compelling. In his June 1963 article, \u201cJazz and Newport Festival\u201d, Hughes comments on the festival\u2019s role and ability in cultivating a culture of large group fun while listening to jazz.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>In its history, Hughes mentions jazz\u2019s place in dance music, party music, commercial music, and even formal concert music spaces, yet likens the environment at Newport Jazz Festival to that of a baseball game or county fair.<\/span><\/p>\n

Created by George Wein and financed by Louis and Elaine Lorillard as a non-profit educational institution intended for funding musical scholarships, the festival\u2019s focus on jazz was a turning point in the consideration of jazz as music by white Americans. Wein and the Lorillards being white Americans themselves, Hughes credits them for \u201cgiving jazz its golden crown\u201d, suggesting they be crowned themselves.<\/span><\/p>\n

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From left to right: George Wein, Elaine, Lorillard, Louis Lorillard<\/p><\/div>\n

Though we have not discussed jazz on its own much in this class, I find the notion of crowning white Americans who \u201cwere the bigger people\u201d by simply accepting jazz as a legitimate genre of music a familiarly white savioristic theme when it comes to music that can be accredited to Black people and musicians.<\/span><\/p>\n

The festival did, however, also make waves in the desegregation of the area around the time of its occurrence. The festivals founders set out for the event to be wholly \u201cdemocratic and interracial\u201d, this theme extending to the integration of all Newport hotels, restaurants, and other public accommodations.<\/span><\/p>\n

Not only did the Newport Jazz Festival have an effect on the physical environment of the jazz taking place, but it also influenced and provoked conversations about the futures of jazz. Considering the array of fame and experience among its performers, Newport Jazz Festival did its part in introducing new, modern jazz through its many young performers while solidifying old jazz\u2019s influence through jazz greats like Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, and John Lee Hooker.<\/span><\/p>\n