2 - Elements of Sound in Jazz Novels

Summary

OF THE MANY FEATURES that can be used to distinguish jazz from other varieties of music, two of the most immediately apparent are those of rhythm and timbre, both elements of sound. In contrast, structural elements only develop in time, over the length of a piece, while elements of the live performance such as improvisation can only be recognized by listeners as such by comparing the performance with other versions. A distinctive rhythm and tone color, however, can be perceived nearly instantaneously, thus providing an appropriate starting point for this discussion of jazz elements in musical novels.

In music the categories of rhythm and timbre, though both found on the level of sound, can readily be discussed independently of each other. A particular rhythmical pattern can be played with a rich tone or with one that is rather tinny, with a mute or without, with a generic sound or a very individual one. The imitation of these two elements of jazz music, however, is accomplished by similar and overlapping textual means. This chapter will argue for the importance of poetry as a bridge between prose and music in the imitation of both elements: poetic meters, as well as other repetitive devices such as alliteration, assonance, rhyme, and syntactical repetition, help to establish and disrupt rhythmic expectations. Furthermore, poetic diction, such as the creative use of newly coined words or an innovative use of familiar words, contributes to an individual voice or timbre. The overlap becomes even more apparent in the case of poetic compounds, which are a highly unusual and idiomatic stylistic element. At the same time, many of these compounds produce stress clashes, emphasizing the element of rhythm that traditionally receives little prominence in prose texts.

Because some of the same textual strategies are used to evoke both elements of jazz sound, I group the two together in my analyses. After brief discussions of rhythm and timbre in jazz music, this chapter will go on to consider textual strategies for evoking jazz sound. Because the texts put more explicit emphasis on rhythm—whether through references to poetic meters such as “iambic,” “trochaic,” and “anapestic” (all in Train Whistle Guitar, 5) or the prominence of trains as a metaphor for blues rhythms—the following analyses will focus on the imitation of rhythm, yet making reference to timbre wherever appropriate.