David Baker: The Nexus of Jazz Curriculum and the Civil Rights Movement at Indiana University

Abstract

In 1966, David Baker, a Black man and esteemed jazz musician and composer, created and developed the Jazz Studies program at Indiana University (IU). The purpose of this study was to investigate how David Baker came to join the faculty and created the Jazz Studies program at IU through an examination of the school’s course offerings and historical context between the years 1949–1969. This time period captures when jazz was evolving from its roots as an informally learned art form into one that was taught in academic settings, as well as important evolutionary moments in jazz, specifically the transition from bebop and cool jazz through the development of hard bop, modal jazz, and Third Stream. Finally, it captures the tumultuous Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s which coincided with IU’s hiring of David Baker and the school’s decision to begin to include jazz courses in its curricular offerings. This examination concludes with a discussion of relevant implications for jazz and music education.