Bop, Rethought: Jazz, culture, and ‘Art Music’ in 1950s America

Abstract

This paper seeks to discuss of one of the most significant questions in the critical discourse of jazz studies and of ethnomusicology more broadly: How does a musical genre, such as jazz, come to be understood as ‘art music’? This paper looks to develop a theory about the concept of ‘art music’ in relation to jazz, as it is understood in North American culture. In applying this theory, which I call the audience-aesthetic specialization theory, I investigate specifically the stylistic innovations of trumpeter Miles Davis in the mid-fifties, and the place of jazz in American culture of the mid-to-late-fifties more broadly. From this investigation, I attempt to extrapolate a new historiographical understanding of the stylistic changes that facilitated the widespread cultural recognition of jazz as ‘art’. Wherever possible, I attempt to nuance my claims using a multi-faceted approach that considers a range of theoretical, aesthetic, and cultural ideas that surround the concept of ‘art music’ as it relates to jazz.