Music and Transformation: Trans Subjectivity in Jazz, Country, and Gospel Music

Randy Drake
Music
UC Santa Barbara

This research project is an ethnographic inquiry into the musical identities of transsexual bassist Jennifer Leitham, trans man country artist Joe Stevens, and The Transcendence Gospel Choir‚ a transgender gospel choir. The dissertation contributes to an understanding of trans identity and American music, illuminating the importance of knowing alternative ways of thinking about musical identity, and considers how music mediates, creates, influences, articulates, or is articulated by, gender and sexuality based identities. The subjects for this study are located in California and were specifically chosen because they represent a variety of trans subjectivities and a wide range of lived experiences. It is important to understand how these artists work out the constellation of politics, aesthetics, and gendered concepts of artistry in their music communities. Their identities and musical practices provide alternative ways to understand what constitutes jazz, country, and gospel music.