Humanities Homework Help

During the time between beginnings of jazz through the Swing Era, the idea of higher jazz
education for the masses was hardly developed. This might have been attributed to the fact that
jazz was seen as a popular music with “hot rhythms” and not much else. The association jazz had
with drugs, alcohol, and brothels did not help either. While some prominent jazz figures
attempted to bring jazz into the formal fine arts arena, the first jazz degree was not offered until
1947 at the University of Northern Texas. To help the progression of higher jazz education and
its legitimacy as an art form came pianist John Lewis (1920 – 2001). Through his work with
the Modern Jazz Quartet and his time as the director of the Lenox School of Jazz, Lewis’
work contributed to the future of university jazz programs and the image of jazz as a fine
art.
 

Topic
The Jazz Education Dilemma: by teaching jazz in an academic setting, is it really jazz?
In this essay, I will explore the challenges Lewis faced in trying to elevate jazz as an art form,
and the legitimacy of learning jazz in an academic setting.
 

Title: Elevating Jazz: Is that…really jazz?
 

Why you chose this topic:
As a future public school music educator, I want to research the cultural/social history behind
why jazz is so often forgotten or unremarkably explained/taught at the primary and secondary
levels. The research I do for this paper will help me better understand the background to jazz
education, which will hopefully better inform me on how to approach teaching jazz in my
classroom.
I specifically chose John Lewis not only for his participation and interest in elevating jazz, but
because of his album, JS Bach Preludes and Fugues from the WTC1.