Reconstructing We: History, Memory and Politics in a Loft Jazz Archive

• Main Author: Heller, Michael C.
• Other Authors: Monson, Ingrid T.
• Language: en_US
• Published: Harvard University 2013
• Subjects: African American studies; American studies; 1970s; New York; music; archive; improvisation; jazz; loft
• Online Access: http://dissertations.umi.com/gsas.harvard:10328; http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:10315048

This dissertation examines a recently discovered archive of films, recordings, photographs and documents relating to the New York jazz lofts of the 1970s. The work not only reconstructs historical details about the lofts, but also explores the significance of the archival project itself, an independent venture founded in 2005 by musician and former loft organizer Juma Sultan. By combining historical research in the Sultan archive and ethnographic engagement with former loft artists, the study examines the continued symbolic significance of the loft era for musicians, listeners and historians. The jazz lofts were independently owned, musician-run spaces in lower Manhattan that served as performance venues, rehearsal halls, living quarters, classrooms and in a variety of other functions. Their emergence is best considered as part of a widespread, politically informed impetus among musicians of the period to organize their own concerts and collective organizations. While the activities shared many similarities with other artist-organized groups emerging in Chicago, St. Louis and elsewhere, the lofts’ independence and lack of a central organizing body led to a more diffuse set of activities than manifested in other cities. The dissertation is structured around two primary goals. First, through archival study and ethnographic engagement, the text traces the musical and social significance of the loft period. Following a basic historical chapter, two thematic discourses are examined at length. The first deals with multivalent forms of freedom envisioned by artists, while the second explores ways that participants conceptualized community and social cohesion. The choice of these discourses is informed by descriptions offered in ethnographic interviews with former loft artists. Second, the research considers the role of the archive itself in the re/construction of historical discourses. A notable self-archiving impulse emerged among jazz artists during the years under study, resulting in thousands of amateur recordings in dozens of private collections. Using the Sultan Archive as the primary case study, the dissertation argues that this self-archiving impulse acts as an artist-initiated intervention into historiographic processes that mirrors the musician-organized ethos of the lofts themselves. === Music