Edwarné Woodley-Gift

Department of English, CUNY City College of New York (CCNY)

FIQWS CP2

Professor Conroy

November 23, 2022

The research was conducted on the Influence of Jazz Music in Harlem, and the  focus was mainly on  Harlem community in New York City.  The study focused on how individuals in the community responded and react to the Jazz culture in Harlem, questioning on if the era of the Harlem Renaissance can still be seen today! Moreover, before conducting my field research I ensured I was familiar with the areas and streets within Harlem, as I would mainly have to walk by foot to discover the influence within the community. Traveling around Harlem was no joke, as the community is known to be very unsafe at nights especially the ionic 125th Street, hence while conducting my field work, I ensured that I was constantly alert while conducting my research. 

The map referenced by (Taborn, 2018,p. xiii) displays a map of the Harlem community, and prominent streets within the community. The areas highlighted as East, West and Central Harlem are areas where my observations mainly occurred for the presence of Jazz culture. The particular region of Central Harlem with the ionic streets and avenues highlighted were mainly the areas where the true essence of Jazz could be discovered within the community.  The map above may also act as a guide while reading the autoethnography and where the areas where located.  Also, while reading imagine yourself walking in the streets of Harlem and remember this quote “Harlem is a stage. It’s like its own planet, from the way we dress to the swag in the way we walk and talk.” ~ Teyana Taylor (James, 2016), as this quote would aid in capturing the uniqueness of the Harlem community and why it is still renowned as a popular community by the names of “Black mecca”, “ The Black Capital” and “El Barrio”.

The Harlem community, renowned its Jazz background or even the influence Harlem had on the Jazz community can still be seen today. The legacy of the Harlem Renaissance can be found throughout the community, by just walking down W/E125^th street or taking the M125, M100, M101 or the M60 Select Bus Service to LaGuardia airport. Using these buses would give you a quick glimpse of what the Harlem community has to offer. Also you take the train to the various stops in Harlem by taking the  4,5,6 trains to the East Side or the 2,3, for Central Harlem or even the A ,B , C,D  or Amtrak [gives you a nice view of the Cotton Club] for West Harlem , other trains such as the 1 train and Metro North also give you a quick view of the Harlem community. The impact of the Jazz Community in Harlem can be seen by various street performers performing Jazz in the subway stations or even art seen close by when exiting the subways.  The impact from the Harlem Renaissance and the influence of Jazz culture, can be found in small, enclosed restaurants and alleys hidden within the city, one may even miss it if not looking carefully! Walking in Harlem allowed me to see beautiful scenery within the community, seen by the photograph below:

As a young child growing up I spent majority of my time studying music and living in the Harlem community specifically Spanish Harlem . The legacy of the Jazz community wasn’t known to me until I began researching on its influence within the community, but I always knew something was special about this community! Likewise, while conducting my research I noticed Latin Jazz and Bebop Modern day Jazz can be found separately within the Harlem community. The East side of Harlem is predominantly known for Latin Jazz , due to a high Puerto Rican and Cuban population while the West Side has a higher Black influence of Jazz Harlem Community (Personal Communication, 13th November 2022)Harlem Community-East Side (Personal Communication ,14th November 2022) Harlem Community-West Side (Personal Communication, 16th November 2022) , these particular observations were seen by the observations I conducted sourced earlier.

Walking in East Harlem – Discovering the Latin Jazz influence

A walk into Spanish Harlem unlocked a different side of Harlem. Although ,being quite familiar to the community, I did not observe the community as an insider but as someone who was not familiar with the community, I did this method of observation to capture the true essence and beauty of this community. After exiting my train stop from the 5 train to discover the influence of Jazz in Harlem. The sound of Latin Jazz could be heard from the subway station and the vibrance of the Latin community could be seen.

Additionally, becoming an anthropologist for my course was necessary to produce this autoethnography essay, I began to research of famous musicians born within the Harlem community and their legacies left behind. A main goal I had as a researcher was to discover the Latin jazz influence in Harlem, especially in East Harlem. The research focused predominantly on Puerto Ricans, but I had failed to mention of Cubans in the Harlem community as well, as the influence of this particular community could be seen as well in Harlem.

 The field work I conducted focused heavily on the use of observations and reminding myself that I am engaging in Participant Observation.  I began to observe more on the community. The legacy Jazz left on Harlem caused various streets and squares to be named after famous Jazz music, but why?  Individuals I spoke to on the street aiding me in directions claim it gave the singer respect, and honor for their work and tells new persons into the community about the history and significance Jazz had on the Harlem community. The community embraces Jazz culture in paintings and murals, while also embracing Black History and the Civil Rights Movement throughout the community as well.  (Harlem Community-East Side Personal Communication ,14th November 2022).

The research I conducted focused heavily on Latin Jazz, by mostly Puerto Ricans, but the community of Harlem displayed another ethnicity in Harlem. The Cuban community also played,

a role in Latin Jazz. This subgroup left a heavy legacy on the Harlem community, which can be seen with Tito Puente Way [Puerto Rican influence], Machito Square and the Celica Cruz[Cuban influence ] painting mural.

The discovery made on this group continued while the walking streets. The influences I noticed within the East Harlem community, was that the Spanish music and language were predominantly spoken within that area, along with the people being educated on the history of Latin Jazz within the Harlem community. I constantly saw many individuals speaking on the street name and why it was so important to the community, and I saw a little restaurant, on the same street were the singer was named after. I was told the street was named after the Jazz singer Tito Puente and that he used to live on Tito Puente Way and it was to show respect to him by naming the street after him.  I continued walking until I met a junction between E111st and 3AV and I saw a restaurant by the name of Amor Cubano. I interviewed someone but they preferred I used a different name for my research project. The name  Ana would be used and  they spoke on the topic of the history of the restaurant stating it was open in the early 2000’s , and Cuban Latin Jazz is played here and the mural painted on the restaurant is in honor of a popular Cuban Latin Jazz singer named Celia Cruz. Ana further discussed on the history of this singer and why she was so important to the community and stated her favorite line was “My English is not very good-looking”, meaning her English was not so good.

The restaurant worker then, highlighted the restaurant was indeed influence by the existence of Cubans within he Harlem community and the Latin Jazz genre. The East side of Harlem had a well preserved history of the Latin Jazz influence caused by the Hispanic community living within the community, and this influence was seen with streets, murals, and other infrastructure representations and organizations within the community.

Similarly, the influence captured from Spanish Harlem visibly entails the rich legacy of this particular community. An interview conducted with Professor Valdés highlights the existence of the community as well as the history. The interview with Professor Valdés highlighted the contribution of the Puerto Rican community and their scholars such as Arturo Alfonso Schomburg. The history of the Puerto Rican community was later expounded upon during the interview and how the community migrated into the Harlem community. The extract from the interview conducted highlight the existence of the Puerto Rican Community not within the Harlem community itself but in New York City. The extract from the interview with Professor Valdés highlights the community within Harlem (Woodley-Gift &  Valdés, Discussing Jazz in Harlem  2022):

“Professor Valdés:  Puerto Ricans gained citizenship in 1917. They are already Puerto Ricans in this city at that time. They’re very small. We want to say like 1000 people maybe? Now they’re already even in Harlem.  The Schomburg Center is the global. It is a it’s a global archive. It has 11 million books and artworks and recordings and films. Everything to do with the black is the global black experience. Yes. Is at the Schomburg. The Schomburg Centre is on 130ST/5 AVE.”

Professor Valdés: Puerto Rican man but Black Puerto Rican man. He was very involved in not only the African American community, but also Afro-Caribbean, the folks who are coming from Barbados, in the Virgin Islands from Jamaica. All of those islands were still British colonies.

Right. So he’s active in the 1910s, 1920s, 1930s. In that community, all those British Caribbean peoples. They’re coming to Harlem, and the Spanish speakers and the African Americans. So there’s like a mix of like, all these folks coming. So that’s really like 1920s, 1930s.

So now, you’re talking about hundreds of 1000s of people here in Harlem? Yeah. A little bit later. That’s why I said be specific about the times the time really come into play. I said they’re about 1000. By maybe that certainly he was key comes to New York in 1891. Because in 1917, I think 17,000 very small, right in comparison to the hundreds of 1000s of African Americans, in particular.

The Puerto Ricans really come under this the effort to industrialize the islands, it’s something called Operation Bootstrap. It’s when the West government wanted to have create more factories on the island. They want to create more jobs. So, what that means, … where do we go and remained like relatively rural, right? Let’s move cities. I mean, it has to have capital and everyone say, okay, so you have all these folks who are displaced from their farm, displaced families, and then those people come in. That’s in the 40s and the 50s. And the 60s, hundreds of 1000s of Puerto Ricans, yes, from the 60s.

Right! So that was predominantly the prior to the Puerto Ricans that was predominantly Irish and Italians living over there. And then you have all the folks come and they first settled in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Yes. Before they come up to East Harlem.

Interviewer: Oh, yes! Yes! Where they have the Nuyorican Poet Cafe.

Professor Valdés: Yes. Right

This is the end of the extracted interview explaining as to how Puerto Rican came into Harlem , a more detailed description can be seen in the bibliography transcript.

Ionic Jazz Places of the Harlem Renaissance Still Stand -From the Apollo Theatre To the Cotton Club and Milton’s Playhouse

Why is the Apollo Important?

Ionic social areas of the Harlem Renaissance are still present within the community. The Apollo Theatre located on 253 W 125th St is still a popular place for Jazz events today! The Apollo is still located in the same area where it originally opened and hosts main events from the era of the Harlem Renaissance. The ionic sign of the Apollo theater, in red is still present, with the listing of events in black and white capital letters, still produce this retro ionic time capsule feeling within the 21st century. This particular infrastructure becomes eye capturing to everyone passing W125th. The obversion conducted on November 13 saw various individuals while passing by shouting the name and looking at the display of lights and began to speak on the theater, many also posed for pictures behind the building. Standing by the theatre, I saw the display of various events being displayed on the billboard such as Amateur Night the Apollo. The lights under the Apollo theatre shined on the stars of famous singers within the musical community of various genre, but the stars of Etta James, Billie Holiday, Aretha Franklin, Celia Cruz ,Quincy Jones , Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong belonged to the Jazz genre!  The images below displays the golden plaques of ionic Jazz legends.

This particular ionic infrastructure is a living legacy and historical influence of Jazz within Harlem, as the building itself tells a story on the history of Jazz within the community.  The Wall of Fame, displays famous Jazz singers, but how does this represent the influence? The representation of these ionic singer honors their work in the Jazz subculture and educates new members of the culture on their contribution not only to the Harlem community but to the Jazz subculture itself.

The influence of Jazz in Harlem can be seen from the Apollo Theatre such as the Amateur night as this highlights the history and embraces the Jazz influence in Harlem. By having Amateur Night this allowed for many upcoming musicians to display their art within the Jazz field and other genres as well.

The Hidden Gem of the Jazz Subculture in Harlem – Milton’s Playhouse

Talbourn (2018) extracted quote signifies the legacy of the Milton’s Playhouse :

“In the mid-1930s, the music of bebop began to surface in Harlem. Bebop musicians often originated in the larger swing-band orchestras that were arranged for popular dances. However, the musicians were looking to expand themselves musically from having to play the same arrangements night after night, as done in swing bands, and they added a complex of altered harmonic changes, typically fast tempos, and extended melodic improvisations to their own compositions or the songs traditionally performed in swing bands. There was a political component to bebop too that voiced a concern that consumers of the highly popular swing-band music did not recognize Black music as high art. Bebop musicians wanted their audiences to sit down and appreciate their music intellectually as well as enjoy it aurally. (p171)

…Minton’s Playhouse opened in 1940 and began featuring bebop. In the words of Miles Davis,’ “the musicians and the people who really loved and respected bebop and the truth know that the real thing happened up in Harlem, at Minton’s”…(p.172) “

The extract above can still be felt when walking into the Milton’s Playhouse, as the rich legacy and history can be felt , while inside of the place with the perfect musical background of the sweet Jazz sounds being played. The scales played by the Alto or tenor saxophone created the perfect rich background for a Jazz subcultural venue.

The outside scenery of the Minton’s Playhouse perfectly depicts imagined image one would have. The location of the club, in a small, enclosed streets along with the neon lights and a small painting clearly depicts the representation of Jazz.

The vibrance of the performances at the Milton playhouse showed me that Jazz is indeed alive and that Jazz is still appreciated by people today . Moreover, walking to the Milton playhouse showcased an entire glimpse of Jazz history with Harlem the street it’s located on near Bebop Blvd carriers the name of the modern day Jazz genre-Bebop ! The street also where Milton’s is located has a modern twist to it with a newly open restaurant name The Cecil Steakhouse, many locals I stopped to interview such as a lady named Maria said “ This building , the restaurant is new,  built in the early 2000s but it’s still embracing Jazz !” , on the side of the building an educational history is given on the street along with a picture of where famous Jazz musicians stood for a photo .

Furthermore, entering the Minton’s Playhouse displayed the position of Jazz in modern day culture, inside the Playhouse was an enclosed subcultural community , with joyful listeners for the love of Jazz music . I arrived during the set of the second performance, and I was able to interview the singer Jillian Grace   on the influence of Jazz in Harlem. The interview focused on Jazz culture and her thoughts and views on the questions I asked.

 The Jazz performer emphasized that when thinking of Jazz the idea of blackness came to mind , similar to what was said by Professor Valdes during her interview as well. Jillian Grace highlighted an interesting thing about Jazz is “…the cool thing about jazz is that it morphs and can kind of seeps into different parts of like Black American music. (Woodley-Gift & Grace   , Jazz Singer Interview Milton’s 2022)” This particular quote said by the musician highlights the significance of Jazz Music in Black American culture. The view of Jazz culture being compared to mainstream popular music was also discussed in the interview as well, the response was (Woodley-Gift & Grace , Jazz Singer Interview Milton’s 2022):

“… They released the Grammy nominations…., and a Young straight ahead. Jazz musician named Samara Joy, … was put in the category for best new artists. So, it’s definitely not as widely received as like the hip hop or you know, pop popular music, but it still has a prevalence for sure. So, it has an importance to the culture… ”

This particular opinion on Jazz music specifically identifies the location of the Jazz genre being placed in the same ideological view of classical music of but being main streamed and widely received by mainly as in the past but is still respected and performed by those who enjoy the genre. 

Finally, the mention to Latin Jazz and the Jazz influence in Harlem was discussed in the interview. Jillian Grace stated that (Woodley-Gift & Grace   , Jazz Singer Interview Milton’s 2022):

“Definitely, definitely. It just depends on …, because New York is so big. You have like different pockets of jazz musicians. So, you’ll have some musicians that play a lot more Latin like Bossa Nova or Samba type music”

This specific view on Jazz music allowed me to understand the views and thoughts as to how some individuals within the Jazz subculture view Jazz as in the modern era , especially at the Minton’s Playhouse.

Finally, the time I spent during my time observing and interviewing at the Minton’s Playhouse allowed me to understand the place of the Jazz genre in today’s society, as in order to get into Minton’s a reservation must have to be made and also a specific spending quota based on the night. This particular set of rules show me that Jazz was indeed not like the concerts or festival of today such as Astro world but similar to performances at the Lincoln Centre.

The Locals Call it a Spin-off to the original Cotton Club

The original Cotton club was located on 142nd St & Lenox Ave in the heart of Harlem, New York but I was told by many individuals within the Jazz subculture that it was closed down, but a modern day spin off was present and it was the closest I could get to the original cotton club. By hearing this news, I began extremely excited to see a modern-day building celebrating the existence of Jazz, in the Harlem community.

The Cotton Club located on the West Side of the Harlem community on W125th, was a very distinct exitance of the Jazz subculture in the Harlem community. The building can be quite evidently located between to roads on 12AV, under the Amtrack line the Club becomes an eye capturing building. The field work conducted on November 16th, while traveling to the building via the M125 bus and stopping at the W 125St/St Claire Pl , there are banners on the lampposts with the history of various Jazz singers within the community and a short discography on their work in the Jazz subculture.

The scenery while approaching the cotton club created a sense of nostalgia that there was indeed a presence of Jazz within the community, and this could be seen by the banners of Edna Thomas, Doherty West and Alberta Hunter while approaching the Cotton Club. The banners acted as a guiding trail to the Cotton Club, while reading on the interesting history of astonishing pioneers in their specialized fields.

These particular banners educate and remind people the influence Jazz had on the Harlem community and reminds individuals on why the Harlem community became famous. Although when I visited the place was closed, I still got a glimpse as to how the Jazz subculture was in this area, the socialization of this place was similar to a modern-day restaurant. This reference was made because of food with served to your table and a live music being performed, while enjoying your meal. This form of Jazz subcultural experience gave a modern day feel as to how the subculture evolved with the modern-day era. The Cotton club also had a banner with the list of events occurring for the week, with the performers listed, almost similar to the entrance of many restaurants located downtown, upon entering. This particular setting invoked a feeling of welcomeness to individuals and would give person the feel of the Jazz community being welcoming.

Although The cotton club is located near a College campus and a railroad it manages to stand out, amongst the tall buildings and infrastructures around it , creating an eye-catting scenery of the Jazz subculture in the Harlem Community.

The encounters I had with Locals within the community,

The persons I met were usually older senior person from the Harlem community, the names in which I did not get disclosed of as the conversations were mainly based on finding the particular areas. I mostly used MTA transit and my Maps App on my phone to locate these places as I thought it was the 21^st century and technology, would aid me in finding these areas , but I was wrong. Most of these places were located with the help of older individuals from the community. The individuals I approached were very welcoming and helpful in guiding me and , also educating me on when some of the buildings were constructed , and the type of events which occurred. Many of them always credited Blacks and African Americans for being the true pioneers of starting the Harlem Renaissance Jazz influence. Also, emphasizes that when they think of Jazz they think of black history , culture and blackness and saw it was a representation of their history within the community.

Conversations with Jazz Performers and Educators on Jazz culture in Harlem

Moreover, the research of my essay was primarily done through observations and interviews, by using these techniques I was able to be more educated and discover the history of Jazz music in Harlem and the effects it had on the community. During my research I did an interview with a Jazz performer and a Professor of Black History studies and History at the City College. The interviews all had a similar central topic based on Jazz music and both highlight that when they imagine Jazz music they think of Blackness and the contributions African Americans had on the community.  The conversations I had with both Jillian Grace and Professor Valdés both expressed similar views on Jazz stating it is not at widely received as main stream music as today, but is still relevant in the music genre , also both gave credit to the African American Community for being the catalyst of the Jazz genre. The interview from Professor Valdés highlights the history of how Jazz originated by (Woodley-Gift &  Valdés, Discussing Jazz in Harlem  2022):

“…If you’re talking 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, right, like we’re talking specifically the context of a history in which we have, you know, the Harlem Renaissance ,.. Great Migration of African Americans pouring into Harlem. Right, and bringing the blues with them. So that’s like early on. So, then you have the blue and then that starts like, and then it’s also we don’t, we didn’t use to talk about this prior to COVID.

 But the 1920s is also right after the 1919 Spanish flu what was called the Spanish flu, right, that pandemic, right, so the 1920s legally is happy. Like what? Like, yeah. And so that explosion also contribute those moments, contributes to the formation of jazz, right people. If you it’s one thing to sing the blues, right?

Yeah. You know, that’s then gonna vary like, my man left me, a dog died, you know, just very, like, a lot of stuff is happening. Can’t pay the bills, right? That’s the blues. And that’s Mississippi Delta. Mostly right. And so all those areas where you have people coming from the Deep South,

Coming to New York City, I mean, bringing all of that with them, and the environment here for so many people is they had never seen as many black people in a city.

 Before, and so that combined with the ends of World War I ends in 1918. We have the ends of the Spanish flu was called the Spanish flu Epidemic. Yes.

So, you know understanding like once this once the Coronavirus used to like the stop starts of life, right? But you see, people are so damn excited to be outside. Right? You see Beyond just put out Renaissance. That’s old music, it’s like dance music. That’s the energy in the 1920s”

This particular statement made by Professor Valdés highlights as to why Jazz become so popular during its peak in the Harlem renaissance. This history of Jazz music is very detailed and rich and the legacy lives on especially in the Haarlem community, as well as its people and the listens of Jazz music. The story of Jazz and the struggles highlighted by the original Jazz singers are still honored today by many. The influence of Jazz in Harlem was the main focus of my study but while e conducting my research, I realized the question of did the Harlem community influence Jazz music became another key question. This became as key research in my field work and was highlighted during my interview and conversations of various people in the Jazz subculture. After conducting my research I realized that many of the information said could not be included in my research paper form my interview with Professor Valdés, so reference to the transcript of the interview is extremely important in understanding the true essence of Black History, The Jazz presence in Harlem and how it came and why. The various facts influencing Jazz such as drugs and crime highlighted in the interview affected the culture and caused a decline in the wages of the performers creating the enclosed culture today, but many may question this , hence why I challenged you as the reader to ask yourself these questions :

1. What do I know about Jazz?
2. Do I know the History and significance of Jazz in Harlem?
3. Why is Harlem so popular?
4. Can crime, drugs and poverty affect a community forever?
5. Can Jazz ever be popular again?

The main focus during my investigation was to research the influence of Jazz music in Harlem but many believed it was the Harlem community which influenced the Jazz subculture. While conducting the interviews both interviewees said this and stated that the particular culture and society of the Harlem community foster the unique Jazz culture we see today.

The black community is also seen to be the center of the Jazz community and also given credit for the birth of the genre. Also the Harlem Renaissance was seen as a point in time where the birth of knowledge within the Jazz community took place influencing modern day Jazz.