A&E
Thomas ’85 lectures on Albert Murray’s “Blues Idiom” in 20th century America
By Jake Altman-DeSole ’18
February 25, 2016
This past Thursday, Feb. 18, Jazz Critic and Hamilton Alumn Greg Thomas ’85 delivered a moving lecture on the “Blues Idiom” life philosophy, as developed by 20th century literary and jazz critic Albert Murray. Thomas began his lecture with a summary of early history of the blues, from the days of New Orleans group free styling all the way through the 20th century, highlighting the evolution of blues not only as an art form but also as a distinct worldview. After providing this context, Thomas presented the insightful ideas of Murray, who lived through the whole period and defended the philosophical legitimacy of the genre with courage and brilliance.
Thomas said the blues ultimately boils down to the tendency of all peoples in a struggle to make the best of their situation. The individual in a tough spot must make use of the blues idiom by acknowledging the truth that life is often, as Thomas put it, “A low-down, dirty shame,” and not giving up. Practitioners of the blues idiom insist that creative expression is the best way to relieve the pressures of a challenging life.
The blues, therefore, is a profound fusion of honesty and tremendous persistence in the face of daunting adversity. A jazz musician, such as Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday or Duke Ellington, is always honest about the difficulties of life yet maintains a remarkable dosage of hope.
In particular, Thomas related this worldview to the Black American experience that was the original impetus for the blues music genre. Racism, poverty and all the other challenges of life for early 20th century African-Americans birthed this philosophy.
Thomas then presented to the audience Murray’s insight that blues improvisation embodies the human dealing with hardship. The clip of Charlie Parker’s solo over the break in “Night in Tunisia” best exemplifies this phenomenon. Parker was a legendary alto saxophonist whose demons (primarily heroin) were also well known. His triumphant solo zigs and zags from high to low notes moving from softer to louder volume.
The listener quickly feels the sense of panic, urgency and persistence that emanates from Parker’s sound. Charlie Parker dealt with racism and addiction at the most extreme levels, yet he somehow managed to produce a stunning body of work and become, arguably, the greatest alto sax player of all time. He, like so many of his contemporaries, lived the blues idiom.
According to Thomas, this blues worldview, this “frame of acceptance,” was developed among people living in subhuman conditions to deal with those conditions gracefully. Charlie Parker died at 38, and so many other talented musicians of the 20th century dealt with drug addiction, infidelity and feelings of intense loneliness.
During the Q&A portion of Thomas’ presentation, an audience member asked, “Should we idolize these musicians even though they had so many demons? Should they be considered role models?” Answering this question thoughtfully, Thomas explained that “People living in subhuman conditions often develop subhuman traits” in order to survive and deal with the overwhelming difficulties of those conditions. The blues was one of those evolutionary art forms that came directly out of despair, yet always responds with hope and dance. The blues acknowledges that humankind has a dark side and a good side: it is always honest about hardship but never gives in to despair.
Correction: In the last paragraph, Thomas was quoting Albert Murray ("People living in..."). Murray goes on to note that most do not develop subhuman traits, and that the blues idiom hero overcomes subhuman conditions.