An ancient African
proverb says that it takes a village to raise a child. While not actually a
village, the San Juan Hill neighborhood in midtown Manhattan “was like a little
village. Everybody knew everybody” (Kelley). It was from this neighborhood that Thelonious
Monk developed his unique and genius style of jazz. Much in the way that jazz
was created as an eclectic mix of music from all of the different cultures of
New Orleans, Monk’s distinct style of jazz drew from the unique and eclectic San
Juan Hill neighborhood where he grew up.
After
moving from North Carolina, the Monk family took up residence in the San Juan
Hill neighborhood of midtown New York City. The neighborhood boasted a large
black population comprised of families from all over the world (Kelley). As a
child, Thelonious would grow up with people from the South like himself, along
with those from the Bahamas and West Indies among others (Kelley). One of the
trademarks of this neighborhood was the music, as the “Black Bohemia” that San
Juan Hill was encompassed in had the largest concentration of Black Musicians
in the city prior to the Harlem Renaissance (Kelley). It felt like every household in
the neighborhood had an instrument, inducing the Monk’s, who acquired a piano
that Thelonious would learn to play on (Kelley). This neighborhood’s appreciation for the
arts provided Thelonious with the support he needed to foster the creativity
within. As such, “the most important influence on Monk’s early development as a
musician and as a young man wasn’t a person but an institution— the Columbus
Hill Neighborhood Center “(Kelley). This venue provided Thelonious a place to experiment
and hone his genius. Additionally, it allowed him to see others play and be
exposed to a variety of styles and backgrounds which greatly influenced his
music.
Looking back at a competition
he lost as a child that would have provided him witha scholarship to Julliard, Monk
replied that, “I’m glad I didn’t go to the conservatory. Probably would’ve
ruined me!” (Kelley). This helps to explain what is meant by the saying “Jazz
is New York, man!” Jazz was created in New Orleans as a product of the variety
of cultures and ethnicities that lived there, much in the same way that New
York is a creation of all of the different ethnicities who moved there and
created the city’s distinct neighborhoods. Additionally, jazz is not formal, at
least not in Monk’s mind. Jazz is creative, distinct, and rough around the
edges; just like the neighborhood he grew up in.
The film Leimert Park describes jazz’s relationship
with the community in the same way as Kelley. For both, jazz is used as a way
for the musicians to express what is going on around them. Jazz, and art as a
whole, can serve as a tool that brings a neighborhood together and turns it
into a community. The Columbus Hill Neighborhood Center was to San Juan Hill
what the World Stage is to Leimert Park, providing a space for artistic
expression and ethnic collaboration. While both communities experienced a
tremendous amount of violence, both found that jazz and art can serve as means
to foster relationships and build a sense of community.
Overall, jazz
musicians, like most people, derive a great deal of who they are based on where
they are from. Our homes are more than where we live. They represent what we
are exposed to, who we interact with, what ideas we are exposed to, and this all
works to forge who an individual is, and who they become.
Comment: Phil Coren
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