The Jazz of Becoming: Music as a Tool of Liberation from Intergenerational Chains of Violence

The Jazz of Becoming: Music as a Tool of Liberation from Intergenerational Chains of Violence

Abstract

The Jazz of Becoming: Music as a tool for liberation from Intergenerational Chains of Violence is a CE project centered on my own experiences growing up in a family with a deep history of cycles of abuse and breaking out. It is understood that individuals with adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have an increased risk of abusing their own children, thereby perpetuating the cycle of violence directly. Also patterns of abuse, neglect, and trauma are passed from one generation to the next in various ways genetically and socially. Therefore violence and trauma can become cyclical, learned, and internalized. The outcome is trauma and abusive behaviors reenacted across generations, often unconsciously. My personal narrative is proof that Jazz music was a major way to cope from childhood trauma and my way out to break the cycle. Singing for my own survival to self soothe and as an act of resistance. Learning the language of Jazz through oral traditions on the scene helped me connect and communicate with others in a deeper way than I could socially because of cognitive disability and trauma effects. Improvisation was a therapeutic practice that helped me gain autonomy and selfhood. I think this is why I was drawn to the blues because I felt it was the only music where I was allowed to cry. The title The Jazz of Becoming is a reflection of how this music helped me gain autonomy, and the thing that was becoming is me.

Publication Date

7-1-2026

Campus

Boston Campus

Keywords

Childhood Trauma; Jazz Voice; Tetrachord; Appalachian Blues; Storytelling; Puerto Rican Jazz

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The Jazz of Becoming: Music as a Tool of Liberation from Intergenerational Chains of Violence

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