A LOVE SUPREME

Getting to know the heart of the Syracuse jazz community.

Words by Chloe Langerman

It’s music that comes from the people and belongs to the people. Frank Malfitano, the founder of Syracuse JazzFest, says this is the way jazz music builds community. Since 1982, JazzFest has been largely responsible for invigorating the jazz community in Syracuse.

Jazz music has been a centerpiece of American culture since the early 20th century. The style originated in New Orleans, primarily in the Black community. Many pioneers drew inspiration from

West African folk, blues, and ragtime music as well as European styles. However, the precise definition of jazz music is a mystery to historians because of the wide range of influences and cultures that contributed to shaping its countless subgenres for more than 100 years.

Jazz gained worldwide popularity through the Harlem Renaissance, a flourishing period of African American art and culture in the 1920s. This movement aimed to deconstruct stereotypes and negative perceptions of Black people and became the foundation for the Civil Rights Movement in later decades.

The Harlem Renaissance spurred the Jazz Age, a time throughout the 1920s and 1930s when jazz impacted many facets of American culture. Young people were influenced by it and began to rebel against traditional American society. Flappers emerged, people felt more comfortable discussing sex, and the women’s suffrage movement gained momentum.

Jazz is also notable for its status as protest music. Recorded by Billie Holiday, “Strange Fruit” was released in 1930 in response to the lynchings of Black Americans. The song was regarded as a protest anthem and was met with intense criticism from the U.S. government. Threatened by the politics of the song, government agents framed her for heroin use and sent her to prison for one year.

From Charles Mingus’ song “Fables of Faubus,” to vibraphonist Joel Ross’ “Being a Young Black Man,” jazz music and its many iterations have persisted in calling out the injustice of American society.

The term “jazz” itself has also been a source of controversy in the community. Its origins in the mainstream derive from white critics who viewed jazz music as distasteful and immoral. In addition, since jazz encompasses such a wide array of music, it is believed by some musicians that the term cannot accurately define the complexities of the genre.

However, throughout its relatively fresh existence, jazz has been able to unite groups of people and create important vehicles for expression. This theme has continued in Syracuse.

Syracuse jazz lovers are a community passionate about bringing the music form back to the mainstream and to future generations. The area also boasts connections to many different styles of jazz. Notably, the Jazz Appreciation Society of Syracuse (JASS) has a focus on Dixieland jazz, otherwise known as the genre’s traditional or original style.

Influenced by the likes of ragtime, blues, and gospel music, Dixieland jazz is its own unique subgenre of jazz music. The style places a heavy focus on collective improvisation, meaning that one instrument plays a melody or phrase and the other members of the group improvise on their instruments to form a unified sound.

The name of the genre derives from The Original Dixieland Jazz Band, who created the first-ever jazz recordings in 1917.

JASS President and trombonist Bob Morris says that he wants the younger generation to be informed and engaged with the jazz community in Syracuse.

“A lot of kids play music but don’t know what’s going on in Syracuse. I’ve found that if you build something in your backyard people will listen to it, so I want our events to be in places where people can see us and appreciate this fun music,” he said.

Financial accessibility to art, particularly music, is an issue that impacts audiences who want to see live music. Ticketmaster — where most fans of popular artists purchase concert and festival tickets — has extreme power over the live concert industry. Their pricey ticket fees and deals with venues mean that fans and artists have little power over the prices and locations of tickets.

This issue came to a head after backlash from the highly scrutinized ticket-buying process of Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour. In January, a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing questioned a top Ticketmaster and Live Nation executive on their monopoly of the live entertainment industry. CEO of SeatGeek, Jack Groetzinger, said that “the industry will continue to lack competition and struggle” if the control continues. Also important is the fact that it is impossible for many people to afford live concerts with this system in place.

Malfitano explained that it brings him pride to give back to the Syracuse community and jazz fans through the free admission policy of Syracuse JazzFest.

“Everyone can attend and everyone does attend. The beauty of that is at JazzFest you will see people of all races and backgrounds and everyone is getting along,” he said.

The Jazz Appreciation Society of Syracuse also puts on accessible events, including free jam sessions, free admission for high school students and younger, and soon-to-be free admission for college students.

Joyce DiCamillo, a jazz pianist, educator, and graduate of Syracuse University’s Setnor School of Music, says that she hopes jazz music can become more accessible to and inclusive of women. In the past and during her time at SU, DiCamillo explained how women were and continue to be treated in music.

“I think as females, you are conditioned to always be right, be good, be quiet. When I did master classes, the girls hardly ever made mistakes, but the guys feel free enough to experiment and mess up,” she said.

The 2020 NPR Music Jazz Critics poll found that between 2017 and 2019, only one-fifth of the 50 most highly regarded albums were recorded by women. Even getting the opportunities to record or perform, as a 2021 European Cultural Studies journal reports, is reliant largely on white men who have power in the jazz industry.

In June, DiCamillo will be one of the few female artists to perform at Syracuse JazzFest.

“It’s still mainly guys in jazz, but there are so many wonderful women who play jazz now. I attribute a lot of that to teachers who encourage us,” she said.

For young people who have yet to explore this kind of music, DiCamillo talks about the importance of not judging based on one performance or one musician. In her opinion, jazz is for everyone.

“Listen to jazz and give it an open mind, go out and seek live music. There is so much happening in jazz that you are bound to hear an unbelievable musician you’ll like,” DiCamillo said.

While jazz music is not the most popular mainstream music today, it still has a rich and large community that wants to share its sound and history with younger generations. Considering jazz’s traditions of protest, it might just be the next big thing for Syracuse students.

Protest and advocacy are an integral part of the Syracuse University experience. The sit-in of #NotAgainSU in 2019 comes to mind, as does the recent rally consisting of graduate students fighting to unionize. A similar culture of compassion runs deep in the veins of jazz music.

“With jazz, we have a greater purpose to bring love and understanding and tolerance to everyone,” Malfitano said.