Ethnomusicologizing: Essays on Music in the New Paradigms

447 Pages·2015·7.06 MB·English

by  William C. Banfield

Ethnomusicologizing
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African American Cultural
Theory and Heritage
Series Editor: William C. Banfield
The Jazz Trope: A Theory of African American Literary and
Vernacular Culture, by Alfonso W. Hawkins Jr., 2008.
In the Heart of the Beat: The Poetry of Rap, by Alexs D. Pate, 2009.
George Russell: The Story of an American Composer, by Duncan
Heining, 2010.
Cultural Codes: Makings of a Black Music Philosophy, by William
C. Banfield, 2009.
Willie Dixon: Preacher of the Blues, by Mitsutoshi Inaba, 2011.
Representing Black Music Culture: Then, Now, and When Again?,
by William C. Banfield, 2011.
The Black Church and Hip-Hop Culture: Toward Bridging the
Generational Divide, edited by Emmett G. Price III, 2012.
The Black Horn: The Story of Classical French Hornist Robert Lee
Watt, by Robert Lee Watt, 2014.
Dean Dixon: Negro at Home, Maestro Abroad, by Rufus Jones Jr.,
2015.
Ethnomusicologizing: Essays on Music in the New Paradigms, by
William C. Banfield, 2015.
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Ethnomusicologizing
Essays on Music in
the New Paradigms
William C. Banfield
Rowman & Littlefield
Lanham • Boulder • New York • London
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Published by Rowman & Littlefield
A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.
4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706
www.rowman.com
Unit A, Whitacre Mews, 26-34 Stannary Street, London SE11 4AB
Copyright © 2015 by William C. Banfield
All images from the author’s collection
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any
electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems,
without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote
passages in a review.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Banfield, William C., 1961–
Ethnomusicologizing : essays on music in the new paradigms / William C. Banfield.
pages cm. — (African American cultural theory and heritage)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4422-2971-6 (pbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-4422-2972-3 (ebook) 1.
African Americans—Music—History and criticism. 2. Popular music—United States—
History and criticism. 3. Jazz—History and criticism. 4. Ethnomusicology. I. Title.
ML3479B366 2015
780.89—dc23
2015008864
™
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper
for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.
Printed in the United States of America
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We are all shaped by mentors. This book is dedicated to my living current
mentors who inspire, fuss, push, and challenge me to think and work more
critically. Their present and very recent encouragement made this book
possible.
Thank you, Amiri Baraka (passed in 2014), T. J. Anderson, David
Baker, Raelinda Brown, Kenny Burrell, Patrice Rushen, George Duke
(passed in 2013), Cornel West, Bill Ferris, Quincy Jones, Dr. Ysaye Barn-
well, Stanley Crouch, Mari Evans, Yusef Koomanyakaa, Robin Kelley,
John Wright, Leonard Brown, Cliff Weeks, Richard Evans, Lenny White.
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CONTENTS
A Note of Definition ix
Prelude: Keeping the Core Creative Spirit-Soul xi
PART I
THEORY: AESTHETIC THEORIES, TEACHING,
AND APPROACHES 1
Ethnomusicologizing and Cultural Relevancy 3
CHAPTER ONE
Ethnomusicology Studies in Music Culture 30
CHAPTER TWO
Popular Music Culture: How to Teach
CHAPTER THREE
and Reach within Popular Music 49
(Black) Music Matters 77
CHAPTER FOUR
Notes from Cuba: November 2012–
CHAPTER FIVE
February 2013 105
The “I” Theory 145
CHAPTER SIX
PART II
HISTORY: BACKBONES AND SONGS 169
A Progressive View of American
CHAPTER SEVEN
Popular Music History, 1948–2014 171
American Mavericks: Interview 216
CHAPTER EIGHT
Harlem Renaissance 1920–1935:
CHAPTER NINE
Artistry, Aesthetics, Politics, and Popular Culture 223
vii
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CONTENTS
INTERLUDES 233
Letters 234
CHAPTER TEN
“You Really Should Give Me
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Some Money” 241
PART III
CULTURE: NEW STANDARDS, CULTURAL CRITIQUE 255
Wake Up! What Time Is It Really?
CHAPTER TWELVE
Who Turns It Up, Down, and Back? Values on the
Cultural Dial 257
Does Our Music Still Bring the
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Good News of the Day? 276
On the Crisis in the Popular Arts
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
and Society: Steps Ahead 279
George Lewis Review 283
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Don’t Use the “J-Word”: Jazz and
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Its Connections to Culture and Meaning 286
Culture Reflections of a Citizen:
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Can Somebody Wake Me Up? 314
Healing and Escape from Zombieland 320
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Critical Cultural Concerns Today 324
CHAPTER NINETEEN
The Songs We Need to Be
CHAPTER TWENTY
Hearing Again: Music Culture and a Musician’s Credo
to Citizenry 335
Postlude 349
Acknowledgments 357
Index 359
About the Author 383
viii
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A NOTE OF DEFINITION
Ethnomusicologizng is . . .
[I]t is indeed the ethnomusicologist who is especially interested in what
has happened in the world of music at large . . . who takes a broad view
of the concept of change and who wishes to know what types of things
happened under various conditions in which cultures find themselves
in the twentieth century, and particularly in the ways in which various
types of intercultural relationships affect music. If there is a methodol-
ogy, . . . it must, it seems to me, revolve around these five characteristics
of the field:
1. The interest in cultural universals, and infinite variety
2. The emphasis on field work
3. Exploring music, visually and verbally [add, aurally]
4. Understanding cultural context
5. An interest in processes
This configuration of approaches constitute the essence of ethnomusic-
ology.
—Bruno Nettl, “Ethnomusicology:
Definitions, Directions, and Problems”
* * *
Ethnomusicologizing contains writings on contemporary music and cul-
ture studies, creative glimpses on history through reflective essays, inter-
views with contemporary artists, perspectives on popular culture analysis,
and criticism. It engages in a way that allows all to better appreciate and
ix
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