Beyond Category: The Cotton Club and Jazz in Harlem (1927-1931) (化外之音：棉花俱乐部和哈莱姆爵士乐 （1927-1931))

Abstract

English Abstract: 
As an art form shaped by the its technical and social complexity, jazz was once known as "American classical music". This article takes the transformation of physical space as an important element in the analysis of jazz history, describing the story of Duke Ellington and the interaction of the Cotton Club and Haram Jazz from 1927 to 1931. The Cotton Club not only projects the overlapped intricacy across race, class and social status into the musicality of jazz; but also links and extends two other spaces: one is Washington in the pre-cotton club era; and the other is the Carnegie Hall, a music temple in the post-cotton club era. From the deep South to Washington to New York City, from Harlem to the Cotton Club to the Carnegie Hall, every change in jazz space reflects and constructs the evolution of jazz itself: both technically and socially. If the Duke Ellington's debut at the Cotton Club in 1927 was an attempt of "beyond category” of jazz, then his debut at Carnegie Hall was to "break category." As a musical expression of an era, jazz means freedom of speech in music. Therefore, the question of "what is jazz" is destined to be debated without a conclusion.

Chinese Abstract: 
作为一种被技术和社会的复杂性融合塑造的艺术形式，爵士一度被誉为“美 国的古典乐”。本文把物理空间的演变作为分析爵士乐历史的重要元素，􏰀述了 艾灵顿公爵的故事以及棉花俱乐部和哈拉姆爵士乐在 1927 年至 1931 年间的演 变。棉花俱乐部不仅涵盖了种族、贫富、阶层之间的浓缩和重叠，并将其映射在 爵士的音乐性里;而且，它链接和延伸了另外两个空间:一个是前棉花俱乐部时 代的华盛顿，另一个是后棉花俱乐部时代的音乐圣殿卡内基大厅。从深邃的南方 到华盛顿到纽约，从哈莱姆到棉花俱乐部到卡内基大厅，每一次爵士空间的变化， 都映射且建构了爵士本身的演变:技术性的和社会性的。如果说艾灵顿公爵 1927 年在棉花俱乐部的首秀，是爵士乐“超越边界”的尝试的话，那他在卡内基大厅 的首秀，则是要“打破边界”。作为一个时代的一种音乐表达，爵士意味着音乐 的言论自由，因此，“何为爵士”的问题注定要被争论而无定论。

Keywords: 爵士，纽约，哈莱姆，棉花俱乐部，空间社会学, jazz, New York City, Harlem, cotton club, sociology of space