Bebop in San Juan Hill

Though Thelonious Monk was born in North Carolina, he was raised on San Juan Hill. This area of Manhattan almost entirely populated by African Americans became a central part of the development of jazz and particularly the bebop style. Anywhere there is a vast diversity of cultures and people, we see the jazz style expand and morph in order to accept more variety, which it then feeds off of. As in New Orleans, the black community within San Juan Hill may have seemed united from the outside perspective, however, the members of the community came from all over the United States and included immigrants from the Caribbean as well. As Monk says: “You go in the next block and you’re in another country” (Monk 19). Because of all the different people found within the Hill and Manhattan in general, there was a definite cultural clash that was perfectly encapsulated by the bebop movement with its heavy dissonance and unconventional modern approach to jazz. The community that raised Monk was also in return greatly affected by the musician whose genius and unorthodox musical style became central to the theme of the community and the culture.
Monk was not an especially active voice for civil rights or against racism, and though he definitely encountered his fair share of the latter, he never emerged as an activist and his relationship with the white woman Kathleen Annie Pannonica Rothschild, or “Nica” shows that race was not at the forefront of his mind. Nica was a great patron for jazz musicians and Monk, like Charlie Parker, lived out the remaining years of his life with her. In his arrest in Delaware with Nica, the police had found drugs in Nica’s car and after Monk refused to answer questions he was beaten. This was a perfect example of the type of racism Monk faced, and yet he did not hold any special resentment that he voiced. Instead, his musical styling proved to be the real source of his rebellion. As professor Stewart said: “His success in transcending race and class lines is perhaps embodied in his affectionate relationship with Nica, but also the way in which he adopted and became adopted by a young generation of Blacks and Whites who were rebelling against the strictures of American society” (Stewart 11/18). It was Monks musical style, not his actions that acted as rebellion. The bebop movement was all about changing from the simple dance music to a more complicated as well as personal style that allowed the musicians the most freedom and improvisation. It changed the focus of the music away from primarily serving the audience and towards the musicians own expression as an art form. For this reason, it could never gain the most popular following, but it did help change the previous image of the jazz musician which was mirrored by the change overcoming the nation in relation to the black community. The previous swing musicians were seen as catering to their white audience. This idea of the simple swing musician was almost reminiscent of slavery and the general degradation of the black community, but the beboppers were the symbol of the new way of the world, the new place that the black community was taking with the musicians as artists not as white entertainers. The bebop musicians were the first “hipsters” and were a major part of the counterculture movement that exploded in the 1960’s.
Monk was formed by his community in San Juan Hill and his bebop musical tradition, filled with dissonance and a wholly original approach to the piano, in turn became a distinct part of the community. The modernization of our American culture was fast approaching, and the bebop, hipster movement was one of the first examples of this evolution. Monk is a prominent figure in the history of jazz and especially in the mindset that changed the entertainer into the artist. The counterculture revolution was all about going against the status quo of everything in culture, and where the status quo included racism, the opposition proved especially strong.

Racism in the Depression

With hard times, racism flourishes, and the Great Depression during the 1930’s was an especially hard time for the whole country. Following the “roaring” party-time 20’s, the 30’s brought a decade of hardships that the music industry proved not to be immune to. Though race and racism had always played a strong role in the development of jazz, the 1930’s saw a wave of modern civil rights reform in the mainstream of liberal America. As racism was getting challenged on all fronts more and more through the years, the music world became an obvious focal point for change that would be viewed on the national and even international stages. The advent and public exposure to technological advances like the radio proved to have significant impacts on musicians and the ever evolving music industry.

As the Great Depression hit America, the music industry, which proved so lucrative during the 1920’s, was one of the first victims of a poverty stricken nation that could no longer afford luxuries such as live jazz entertainment. With the invention of the radio, and the end of Prohibition, jazz was no longer the exciting club atmosphere that it had been, “Not only alcohol, but the whole ethos and ambiance of jazz culture were demystified in the process. Both could now easily be consumed at home: alcohol legally purchased at the liquor store, jazz carried into the household over the airwaves” (Gioia 136).  This fostered very strong competition for the ever dwindling job opportunities for jazz musicians, as few bands being distributed to radios everywhere negated the need for live music at multiple venues. At the same time, the radio allowed the careers of those few successful musicians to really flourish, allowing bands to gain a national fan base.

Perhaps the clearest example of the racism talks in the 1930’s were those between John Hammond and Duke Ellington. During this time, music critic and jazz enthusiast Hammond emerged as a strong proponent of integration of the music world. Hammond was a very important member of the jazz community as not only a noted critic but also as one of the first talent agents and he is credited with beginning the careers of and “discovering” such jazz legends as Fletcher Henderson, Count Basie, and Billie Holiday. Also, Hammond is credited with persuading Benny Goodman to integrate his band. In addition to this, Hammond notably criticized Duke Ellington for his “tact and suave manner [which] disguised a willingness to tolerate racial indignities for the sake of commercial success” (lecture 11/2). Hammond was accusing Ellington of being racially insensitive for continuing to play at the fully segregated Cotton Club. Further, Ellington was accused of catering his music to white tastes. Ellington would retort that Hammond, a white, Vanderbilt was in no place to comment on what it was like for a black musician to survive and thrive during the Great Depression. White musicians enjoyed many advantages in an extremely competitive industry for both whites and blacks. They were paid better, were generally accepted more, and were less subject to having their music stolen (Gioia 142). There was stiff competition throughout the industry but for the African American population, surviving the Great Depression necessitated compromise, however, I do not think Ellington was in any way oblivious to the lack of black people allowed in the club. The simple fact is Ellington had a steady job at the club in a time of great depression that saw many musicians fail.

                The end of the good time 20’s ushered in a new era of solemn depression in America. Jazz, which has always flourished with the exciting party atmosphere, saw a significant evolution to survive the Great Depression. As the nation became more and more modern with its racial integration in society, jazz became a forefront battleground for the fight, with black musicians as a leading group in the public image.