Ariel Ariel

Volume 8 Number 1 Article 5

1992

The Role of Jazz in Julio Cortázar's The Role of Jazz in Julio Cortázar's Rayuela Rayuela

Craig Niel Bergeson University of Nevada, Reno

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Recommended Citation Recommended Citation Bergeson, Craig Niel (1992) "The Role of Jazz in Julio Cortázar's Rayuela," Ariel: Vol. 8 : No. 1 , Article 5. Available at: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/ariel/vol8/iss1/5

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THE ROLE OF JAZZ IN JULIO CORTAZAR'S RAYUELA

With his 1963 masterpiece Rayuela. Julio Cortazar revolutionized the

Latin American novel, taking it beyond its traditional boundaries by liberating

language and involving the reader in new ways, paving the way for the so­

called "boom" in Latin American literature. Examples of the liberating

qualities of Rayuela are well-known: the various possible reading, the open

structure, the innovative language.

A much less recognized but no less original aspect of Rayuela--one

which also contributes to its liberating power-- is the incorporation of the

techniques of jazz in its composition. Critics have virtually ignored jazz's

essential role in Rayuela with the exception of brief articles by Amalia

Lazarte Dishman and Guillermo Nifto de Guzman. Lazarte Dishman

contributes some valuable insights to the role of jazz in Cortazar's short story

"El perseguidor," and in passing, to the rest of Cortazar's literary output.

For example, she suggests that the structure of the story resembles that of a

"take" (187), that is, one of the several interpretations of a single theme

recorded while making a record. Each take has the same basic structure,

~- but, because of the openness of jazz, each becomes a new and unique work

of art. Dishman also observes that there is a certain similarity between

several of Cortazar's works and "a sort of jam session" (188), i.e. ,

spontaneous creation by several musicians. Each musician interprets the

skeleton structure left by the composer, or perhaps together they decide on

a basic chord structure and then go from there, with very few written notes

and no set plan.

Lazarte Dishman 's study raises interesting points about the presence of

jazz not only in "El perseguidor," but in Cortazar 's longer works as well.

Nifto de Guzman also makes some valuable observations on the

influence of jazz in Cortazar's writing, including Ravuela, one of his longest

45

and most important works. He proposes that Cortazar's love for )au

manifests itself in the author 's fictional world--in both themes and technique,

that he is led to attempt to write in the same way that a musician plays his

instrument (3). Nino de Guzman's eloquent and enlightening article sets a

theoretical groundwork for more detailed studies. If one studies a few

explanations of what )au is--looking at what Cortazar and others have said

about it--and then begins to look closely at a long and complex work like

Rayuela, a fascinating pattern does begin to emerge, a pattern that ultimately

clarifies the essence and intrigue of this novel.

In an interview with Omar Prego, Julio Cortazar explains that he began

to listen to )au music during the years 1928 and 1929, discovering instantly

"ese fen6meno maravilloso que constituye su esencia: la improvizaci6n"

(162). What is this music called )au that so fascinated Cortazar? Jo Jo

Jones , )au drummer, offers one of the simplest definitions: "What is )au?

The closest I can get to answering is to say thatjau is playing what you/eel"

(HentcoJj 18). Nat Hentcoff, writer andjau critic, suggests that #Part of the

power of )au is its spontaneity, its directness... its sound of surprise" ( 47).

This element of surprise is essential to improvisation and is the key to the

nature of the take and the jam session. The artist does not simply interpret

the work created by the composer; he co-creates. Cortazar's own definition

of )au concurs:

Esta basada en el principio de la improvisaci6n. Hay una

melod(a que sirve de gu(a, una serie de acordes que van dando

Los puentes, Los cambios de la melod(a y sobre eso Los musicos de

)au construyen sus solos de pura impovisaci6n, que naturalmente

no repiten nada. (Prego 163)

This music, which/or Cortazar was very innovative, intrigued him at

that time because it was the only music which coincided with the notion of

automatic writing being proposed by the French surrealists, granting him the

equivalent of surrealism in music (Prego 163). Automatic music is also of

46

interest to the protagonists and the narrator of Rayuela. While listening to

records, some of the characters try to offer their own definition of this music

calledjau.:

El jau. es como un pajaro que migra, o emigra ... es una Jonna

arquetipo, algo de antes, de abajo, que reconcilia mexicanos con

noruegos y rusos y espaffoles. (204)

Thus, for them, jau. is a thread which unites various cultures and concepts;

it is a universal music and a universal language, connected to the origins of

thought. Indeed, the language of j<ia. is connected to Cortazar's patterns of

thought, and therefore it must manifest itself in his writing.

After reading a few chapters of this noyel, knowing that Cortazar was

a jau. enthusiast, one could presume something similar to what Bruno

observes in "El perseguidor:"

Cuando la marquesa echa a hablar uno se pregunta si el estilo

de Diz.zy [Gillespie] no se le ha pegado al idioma, pues es una

serie intenninable .. de variaciones en los registros mas inesperados. (160)

Cortazar's language resembles a Diz.zy solo because it does not consist of

mere words for the mind; it is music for the soul, a gathering and exposition

of feelings, which, according to Cortazar, was his intent in writing Ra_yuela:

He tratado de que lafrase no solamente diga lo que quiere decir,

sino que lo diga de una manera que potencie ese decir, que lo

introduce por otras vertientes, no ya en la mente sino en la

sensibilidad. (Prego 170).

A fundamental element of this universal music that infects Cortazar's

language and helps him to achieve the musicality he seeks is the rhythm

commonly used injau.: swing. Andres Amor6s, has affinned: "como buen

aficionado a la musica, Cortazar es muy sensible a los valores rltmicos y

musicales de! lenguaje" (Introduction 59). It is this swing rhythm which

pushes the music and the language onward, as if it were the heartbeat of the

47

work of art. Cortazar told Evelyn Picon Garfield that he sought for this

concept of swing in his work: "El Jazz me enseflo cierta sensibilidad de

swing, de ritmo, en mi estilo de escribir. Para mi, las jrases tienen un

swing" (Cited by Amoros, Introduction to Rayuela 565). In Rayuela.

Morelli, an author who might represent Cortazar, also talks of the relation

between swing and writing:

No tengo ideas claras, ni siquiera tengo ideas. Hay jirones,

bloques, y todo busca una Jonna, entonces entra en juego el

ritmo y yo escribo dentro de ese ritmo, escribo por el, movido

por el y no por eso que llaman pensamiento y que hace la prosa.

(565)

Chapter seven is a good example of writing with a swing to it. First of

all, there are short phrases, like "tu boca, • "me miras", and "de cerca. •

Such phrases are repeated and joined to each other and to longer phrases

which are replete with alliteration, like "una ~ola ~aliva y un ~olo ~abor"

(160). The preoccupation with rhythm creates a very musical language which

pushes the reader on to the end of the chapter, as if Cortazar were creating

with the trumpet instead of the pen. This sensation of being pushed forward,

of wanting to continue to the end without knowing why, is produced by this

swing, and it is present throughout Rayuela. Furthennore, in chapter sixteen,

where one of the •club's• listening sessions is described, the famous

Cartesian parody "I swing, therefore I am• appears, a phrase well suited to

Rayuela. since the novel's life emerges from a rhythmic swing.

Another important element of Jazz is tension, which is constantly

produced and released, through the swing rhythm, but also through dissonant

tones, jumps in pitch, and distinct melodies opposing one another and then

becoming intertwined. In Cortazar's novel, such tension accentuates in part

the differences and conflicts between Buenos Aires and Paris. The

protagonist, Oliveira, is an Argentine national who splits his time in the novel

between the two opposing cultures. These two aspects of reality which are

48

r

1

t

ft

ft

evident in Rqyuela. "no s6lo reflejan la circunstancia geografica de su

protagonista-- y de su creador-- sino que simbolizan la contradicci6n

pennanente, el sf y el no que existe en todo" (Amor6s, Introduction 31).

Ronald and Babs, two of Oliveira 's friends, observe that same tension

in the }au they enjoy, and it seems most evident when they listen to a song

that gets off to a bad stan but that becomes better once Bix and Eddie Lang

stan to play:

Dos muenos se batfan fraternalmente, Ovillandose y

desentendiendose. Bix y Eddie Lang ... jugaban con la pelota .. .

y d6nde estara ente"ado Bix, pens6 Oliveira, y d6nde Eddie

Lang, a cuantas mil/as una de otra sus dos nadas en que una

noche futura de Paris se batfan guitarra contra corneta, gin

contra mala suene. (169)

This tension and conflict characteristic of }au is conspicuous throughout

the novel: Paris against Buenos Aires, Oliveira against La Maga, reason

against instinct. By comparing these conflicts with the tension produced in

jau, one can begin to feel more of what Conazar is doing, and come to

understand his music instead of merely grasping his ideas. He is simply

attempting to explain the internal and eternal conflict with the manipulation

of language; this conflict must somehow be demonstrated sensually through

the printed symbols. Cortazar plays with the symbols, creating new words-­

nonsensical words-- breaking rules of punctuation and style, liberating the

traditional fonn of the novel.

This jau-like tension is connected to the open and free structure which

characterizes the text of Rqyuela. In chapter twelve the narrator mentions

that Ronald and Babs are given over to jazz as a "modesto ejercicio de

liberaci6n • (174). Dizzy Gillespie and those who follow him, like Miles

Davis and John Coltrane, were always looking for a freedom in their music,

straining to go beyond the traditional methods of creating music. They create

a music which is essentially free, without limits and with very little discernible

49

structure. Amor6s also suggests that the ultimate attraction of.jazz is

freedom. He cites chapters twelve, seventeen, and seventy-four as evidence

of a music which permits everything (Introduction 79). For him, Rayuela

< <se bur/a de convencionalismos y ceremonias, canta apasionadamente a

la libertad en todos las ambitos--en la musica, al jazz>> (86). Concerning

this freedom of jazz, Corttizar affirms: "Par el jazz siempre salgo a lo

abierto • (La vueltaJ.

The first obvious indication of a free and innovative structure similar

to that of jazz occurs in the 7ablero de direcci6n, • and in the several

possible readings of the book which are proposed by the author. A jazz

composition also has various interpretations, according to the solos that are

included at the performers' discretion. Cortazar provides us with the

"Cap{tulos prescindibles, • which can be included at the discretion of the

reader. Concerning these chapters, Amor6s suggests:

En el conjunto de la obra, ademtis, poseen [Los HCap(tulos

prescindibles "] una .finalidad musical muy clara; son armonicos

que refuerzan--por armon(a o contraste--las melod(as btisicas. Y

de vez en cuando nos hacen sentir Ia delicia; coma el

<<solo>> de un saxo; coma la cadenza, en un concierto de

piano y orquesta. (Introduction 25)

Another expression of the open structure in a jazz performance is the

presence of various themes, or melodies, which develop simultaneously. The

presence of this technique in Rayuela is especially prevalent in chapter thirty

four, in which a novel Oliveira reads is juxtaposed with the thoughts he

entertains while reading it. The two plots, or trains of thought, intertwine,

creating a synthesis that is a third melody. It is as if a trumpet and a sax

were both "soloing" at the same time, each melody being pitted against the

other, creating a third melody.

An open and liberated structure requires more of the who participates

in the art. Injazz--this music that seems to have little structure--the musician

50

who plays a solo must complete the composition provided for him by the

composer, and at the same time, the listener imagines and creates other

possibilities. Such freedom is difficult with classical music because the

composer indicates everything he wants played, without allowing for more

creation to emerge from the central theme. In an open novel like Rayuela.

it is the reader who becomes the true creator. The possible readings are

inf{nite. Cortazar only initiates the game, like a jaz.z composer; then, the

reader, like the jaz.z artist, finishes it, completing the composition in his own

way. The guide is there, but one must produce the notes he deems necessary

and appropriate (Amoros, "Rayuela. una nueva lectura" 142). According to

what Cortazar said in an interview with Evelyn Picon Garfield, the openness

which involves the reader in the creative process is exactly what he had

hoped for:

Todo eso que tu has pensado me llena de contento, es como una

especie de recompensa para m( porque el hecho de dejar al libro

abierto y encontrar en tu caso tantas posibles opciones es

exactamente lo que busco con mis lectores. (Amoros, Rayuela

43)

Thus, like any composition by Bird or Satchmo, Cortazar expects the reader

to play those notes--those words, those ideas--which he or she feels. In this

way the novel becomes complete for that reader; it becomes one's own novel,

with one's ideas and spirit added to the basic theme. Because of this

phenomenon of an accomplice artist (or reader), Rayuela. like a jau.

composition, is never read or interpreted the same way by two different

readers; it is free and open.

The open structure of Rayuela is also related to the central theme of the

novel: the search. The protagonist is searching for another reality, and the

author is searching for another form of literature. The search also appears

very clearly as a central theme in "El perseguidor:" "A partir de Johnny

Carter, los protagonistas de sus relatos seran, todos, perseguidores,

51

buscadores de alga que de sentido a nuestra vida sabre este .mundo •

(Amor6s. Rayuela 19). In that story, and also in Rayuela. jazz is explicitly

linked with the search. Johnny has abandoned the traditional language of

Jazz and is now searching for new ways to express himself, to escape his

private sphere and participate in a distinct reality: "En $U caso e{ deseo le

exige avanzar, buscar, negando par adelantado Los encuentros fticiles del Jazz

tradicional" (Cortazar, "El perseguidor" 166). And for Johnny, music is the

instrument for his search:

La musica me sacaba del tiempo, aunque no es mas que una

manera de decirlo. Si quiero saber lo que realmente siento, yo .

creo que la musica me metfa en el tiempo > > (Corttizar, "El

Perseguidor" 147).

In Rayuela. Oliveira searches to uncover a second reality entombed -by

custom and culture beneath our present version of reality (Alazarki 33). His

instrument is the rejection of logic and dialectics, the bringing to life of the

absurd. In these two works it is evident that Corttizar is also searching for

another reality, and jazz is like a model for that search. On one occasion

when the "club• is listening to jazz, the narrator tells us the following:

Y Oliveira, un poco borracho tambien, sent{a ahora que la

verdad estaba en eso, en que Bessie y Hawkins fueran ilusiones,

porque solamente las ilusiones fueran capaces de mover a sus

fieles, las ilusiones y no las verdades. (179-80)

So is the entire search of Oliveira. He is searching for something

outside of reality, outside of what is called mere truth. When a new Jazz

artist hurdles barriers to search out another reality and carry his art to an

untouched level of expression, the traditional fans and critics often reject him

initially. A similar fate had befallen Charlie Parker and others because they

were breaking new ground. They wanted to go beyond the traditional

confines of music, to arrive at the notes without notes. In a similar manner,

it has been said that with Rayuela, Corttizar attempts to arrive at the word

52

without words (Picon Garfield 110). Johnny, Oliveira, and Cortazar propose

a dissemination of the boundaries of tradition, searching for new ways of

expression.

Rayuela reflects this liberation of expression that jazz has always

sought. The take, the jam session, and other essential elements of jazz

contribute to this novel's essential characteristics: the theme of the search,

the experimentation with and liberation of language, and the involvement of

the reader in the creative process. Rayue/a is similar to a jazz composition

in its rhythm, its production of tension, its open structure, and its relationship

to he who interprets the themes. By reading Cortazar's masterpiece as a

metaphor for a jazz perfonnance--a long jam session with various solos,

variations and innovations--one can b~tter comprehend it, because, like a jazz

performance, Rayuela speaks not only to the mind, nor to only the emotions:

it is a complete work that speaks to the complete being.

Craig Niel.._Bergeson University of Nevada, Reno

(

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