Mackey, Michael
(2017)
FROM PITTSBURGH TO THE PERSHING: ORCHESTRATION, INTERACTION, AND INFLUENCE IN THE EARLY WORK OF AHMAD JAMAL.
Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
Despite over sixty years of international recognition and the enduring respect of his fellow musicians, pianist Ahmad Jamal’s omission from jazz discourse is most curious. Stanley Crouch hailed Jamal as second only to Charlie Parker as the most influential individual on the development of jazz after 1945. While Jamal was still a teenager in Pittsburgh, the eminent Art Tatum deemed him a “coming great.” After establishing himself as one of Chicago’s leading pianists during the 1950s, his album But Not for Me: Live at the Pershing (1958) remained on Billboard’s album chart for 107 weeks and has become one of the best-selling jazz albums of all-time. However, detractors of Jamal continually questioned his commercial success and claimed that his use of space, light touch, and emphasis on ensemble balance point to a lack of virtuosity. Yet these were the very qualities that first attracted the attention of Miles Davis, who once claimed “all my inspiration today comes from the Chicago pianist Ahmad Jamal.”
This dissertation engages Jamal’s life and musical output from several perspectives. Jamal’s biographic narrative is constructed by tracing his youth and musical development in Pittsburgh through the reception of his highly-influential album, At the Pershing, with particular attention to socio-cultural movements accompanying the historical context. Transcribed recordings and interviews are used to examine the extent of Jamal’s conceptual influence on Davis and his sidemen, particularly in how Jamal’s trios of the early 1950s affected the repertoire, phrasing, groove, and overall aesthetic of Davis’s own output. Drawing from Ingrid Monson’s theory of intermusicality, analysis of Jamal’s trio recordings reveals practices of orchestration and interaction that challenge conventional notions of collaborative improvisation. Ultimately, this dissertation initiates dialogue on Pittsburgh’s distinguished legacy of jazz pianists and on the applicability of Jamal’s orchestrational concepts in jazz performance pedagogy.
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| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
|
| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
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| ETD Committee: |
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| Date: |
29 June 2017 |
| Date Type: |
Publication |
| Defense Date: |
31 March 2017 |
| Approval Date: |
29 June 2017 |
| Submission Date: |
23 May 2017 |
| Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
| Number of Pages: |
237 |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences > Music |
| Degree: |
PhD - Doctor of Philosophy |
| Thesis Type: |
Doctoral Dissertation |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
ahmad jamal, jazz, piano, trio, improvisation, interaction, interplay, intermusicality, orchestration, Pittsburgh |
| Date Deposited: |
29 Jun 2017 13:33 |
| Last Modified: |
29 Jun 2017 13:33 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/32139 |
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