“The Intimacy of the Blues”

Stripped down and bare, at least when we consider the textures of Duke Ellington’s big band, “Intimacy of the Blues” (1967) is sensuous. The reeds — alto, tenor and baritone sax — create a richness in the texture on top of the rhythmic foundation of the piano, bass and drums. Tightly woven, the octet that recorded Duke’s original score allowed the sound to be “tried out… so that the leader could hear how they sounded and consider the possibility of their translation upwards into the full band.” (Stanley Dance, original liner notes, Intimacy of the Blues).

“Translation upwards into the full band…” got me thinking about how a central idea can be made more complex. When we think about the blues and its plaintive sound; the way its form is recognizable, and its call-and-response patterns repeated as if to encourage incantation, I think about the challenges that arise when this elemental sound or form is translated “upwards” into more complex renderings. How is its essence retained and not diffused into an unrecognizable form when faced with instrumental variety? What compositional compromises or adjustments are made in order to retain the distinct sound of the blues and prevent it from becoming something else? Is this a “social contract” in musical form; do artists give up some of their creativity in order to play the blues in an ensemble? What is lost, what is gained?

Sure, you’re wondering why I’d even consider such specifics outside the realm of arts. Well, here’s the thing: the blues is culturally significant (read Albert Murray’s, The Hero and the Blues and his seminal text, The Omni Americans for some background) and so influences American culture in the US in ways not consciously recognized, save for those of us trained in culture. Here, Bob O’Meally’s informative compilation, The Jazz Cadence of American Culture is also useful. Bob’s book delineates the ways in which jazz (and the blues) serves as an identifying feature  of US culture; he shows us who we are as a nation, culturally. I accept this and support fully the view that the US is best identified in terms of its cultural heritage, not its capitalistic desires. It is this view — a national identification through cultural heritage — that endows the US brand (yes, brand, as if we are selling ourselves to ourselves and the world) with integrity and is the preferred strategy for both self (national) identification and engagement with foreign actors.

Ok, back to my fascination with “upward translation.” Here are my assumptions: the blues is an identifying feature of US identity; Duke Ellington played blues-based jazz; meaning, he self consciously integrated the blues form into his compositions. Because the blues is an identifying feature of US identity and since jazz permeates US culture, its pervasiveness is wide ranging and impacts or influences even those sectors of society not typically identified as having a relationship with the arts. So, as Duke integrated the relatively simple form of the blues into his instrumentally and musically complex compositions; so too does blues-based jazz inform complex systems of organization and governance beyond the bandstand. (For an overview of this, read my forthcoming article in Spectrum: the Journal of Global Studies, Spring 2012)

Governments seeking to engage one another in the interconnected 21st century world face challenges similar to those of Duke as he worked to “translate upward” his blues composition in “The Intimacy of the Blues”  and move it from a score for an eight-piece band to a full ensemble while retaining the singularity of the blues form and its identifying features — “e pluribus unum” in sound.

The jazz ensemble functions multilaterally — as do today’s nations or regions — and conversations (not two-way dialogues) between instrumental sections with disparate and distinctly identifiable sounds engage one another around the common theme or score. Here, think of the score as world peace and the distinctly identifiable sounds as each state’s interest in self preservation as a sovereign entity. Globally, we are committed to playing this score to the very end.

When a jazz ensemble commits to swing, it commits to achieving and sustaining equilibrium or a rhythmic tension between the bass, piano and drums, that moves the score forward while advancing and illuminating the talents of various sections. When a jazz ensemble commits to integrating the blues into this formulation, it weds itself to a couple of things: honoring the traditions of African Americans in the US who codified the form; a call-and-response pattern and repetition inherent to the style; and an emotional intensity that conjures intense feeling. Integration is key. Bands can swing without the blues and  jazz is not necessary for the blues; the two are mutually exclusive. Integration is a conscious choice.

Back to matters of global governance… Various state actors must collaborate, like a jazz ensemble, to achieve equilibrium in force or power; the “sound” of which is sustained peace. If we think of emerging states or democracies as representing the volatility of the blues; then more established actors, like well-organized instrumental sections in an ensemble, must strive to sustain equilibrium despite or in spite of unpredictable assertions — the blues — interjected into the operational efficiency. Gone are the days of ideological stand-offs between two Superpowers; those metaphorical dialogues were unproductive. Gone are the days of lone Superpower privilege such as that enjoyed by the US in the Post-Cold War era; those days of conducting the ensemble from a position of hierarchal superiority have passed. Instead, the multilateral conversations exemplified in a jazz ensemble that swings the blues are instructive in managing the current moment of relative uncertainty. By emphasizing culture over capitalist desires, the US can manage its revised role in global affairs more efficiently and maintain its national integrity.

Duke’s band was known for its rich textures in sound, instrumental variety, excellence in musicianship, and long-term committed personnel. Surely there is something to be learned from Duke.