By Jennifer Yoshikoshi
Dizzy Gillespie. Thelonius Monk. Chet Baker.
For many students these are just three random names of random people. That changes quickly for those, like myself, who take the course “Listening to Jazz,” taught by Jon Nathan in UC Santa Barbara’s Music Department.
It wasn’t until fall 2020 that I learned that these names are among the most well-known jazz musicians of all time. When I took “Listening to Jazz,” I learned that jazz is not just music to relax to, or study to, or hear in the background at a party. The art of performing and playing jazz is improvisational and intense, though it may sound serene to an unfamiliar ear.
From left to right: Dizzy Gillespie (trumpeter) , Thelonius Monk (pianist) , Chet Baker (trumpeter).
Throughout the course, we read about components of jazz, watched the cheeks of trumpet players appear as if they were about to explode, and listened to impressive improvisations.
Instructor Jon Nathan, director of the UCSB Jazz Ensemble, teaches this course. Though not offered every term, it was held during the fall of 2021 and will be offered again this spring.
Nathan has a Bachelor of Music in jazz studies from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and a Master of Music degree in percussion performance from California State University, Northridge. His extensive knowledge of jazz and other types of music allows him to reach students whether or not they have prior jazz.
The course trains students to quickly pick up the formulations involved in creating a jazz piece.
UCSB Jazz Ensemble Director Jon Nathan teaches the course “Listening to Jazz” in the music department.
Students also gain knowledge of musical terms such as syncopation, melody, and rhythm. Sounds made by instruments such as the snare drum, bass, trombone, and saxophone become identifiable to our ears as we listen.
Growing up in South San Francisco, I had played multiple instruments in a symphonic band and felt confident in my understanding of music theory. But those perceptions were soon contradicted by the complex ideas introduced within the first weeks of class. I learned how to listen to jazz from a more analytical perspective and learned the historical timeline of the development of jazz music.
We started by learning its early form as jazz blues, then its development to bebop, and finally to modern smooth jazz. Not only is the history complex, but the lives of jazz musicians were complicated too.
For our final essay, we had to read a book about a famous jazz musician and write about their life history. I chose Mary Lou Williams, a Black jazz pianist and one of very few female musicians recorded in the early years of jazz. Williams grew up neglected by her single mother, and had to take care of herself and her siblings on her own. Luckily her musical talents got her a job at just seven years old, playing the piano in her neighbors' homes to financially support her family
By the 1940s, Williams was working alongside the greatest jazz musicians, including Thelonius Monk. Although she pursued a male-dominated career, she rose to fame during an era of prejudice, segregation, and poverty. Her story is just one of many stories of hardships that jazz musicians endured during times of political and social instability.
Mary Lou Williams, a Black jazz pianist and one of few female musicians recorded in the early years of jazz.
In our other assignments, we collaborated on projects in groups that saw those with no music experience alongside those who knew more - which allowed us to see and hear aspects of a performance that we may have missed on our own.
My group was made up of an amateur pianist, two students with no musical background, and myself. With my music background, I was able to identify chord progressions in solos by saxophones and trumpets. The pianist in my group pointed out syncopated rhythms in the drums and bass. The non-musicians pointed out the aggressive facial expressions, changes in dynamics, and the overall mood of the music.
I will never know what this course would be like in an in-person setting, since the course was taught in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic with recorded synchronous Zoom classes. Still, my online experience left me with a greater appreciation for jazz. “Listening to Jazz” is a course that forever changed my perspective on jazz.
Jennifer Yoshikoshi is a third-year anthropology major at UC Santa Barbara. She wrote this article for her Writing Program class, Digital Journalism