As I said, this is not menial, their music certainly is not menial. It's subtle, nuanced, of high technique. But I simply do not care about sophistication, I don't think the people who did Jazz cared about sophistication, they cared about music a lot more then sophistication.
It is only in this sense, Jazz is not sophisticated, it is anti-sophisticated and in a sense a rebellion against these ideas. The way Jazz was viewed by some of the sophisticated set was that it was vulgar, stupid and crude as I noted earlier the commentary by
Henry van Dyke.
These individuals did not make their music for high society initially and their music was made for the people around them to enjoy.
don't really see what is static about Stuart Davis, I would say he's one of the less static artist that we saw but this is subjective and I'm not really going to go in to it. Suffice it to say, I think his art is subtle and nuanced, going through the changes he went thru in his career, he is very much at the forefront of pop art. I don't think he's one of the great artists however, but good. It's a bit funny actually because he uses words/symbols and such in his works but his later works he had morphed these so they were not easily recognizable yet still able to subconsciously influence you. I'm generally against this, especially when it's overt. In Rapt at Rappaport's there are letters and lettering, as well as a cross or plus sign and and symbol, he does it in a way that it defies expectations but still conveys the meaning at a subconscious level. It is Impressionism and Expressionism which uses clever illusions and abstract techniques to create a gestalt in the mind rather then just pain on canvas, it is a tease as I said. It's the same as say, Nina Simone use of silence to convey drama in a musical performance.
I don't know about doing that out of necessity, people rub shoulders with hookers and pushers sometimes because they like it.
I agree that Jazz was a form of identity seeking by a oppressed culture, as is rap, hip hop, rock, etc. In the same way, it's often viewed as unsophisticated, vulgar, crude.
As far as La traviata, this is based off of
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lady_of_the_Camellias which is writen by Alexander Dumas fils, who's a bastard son to Alexander Dumas pere.
Dumas pere was a mulatto and a person well known for his interaction with both the upper and lower class, being acceptable in neither. The subject of class, color, and social injustice is deeply personal to Dumas fils.
However, he did the opera for the money.