Jazz : a century of change / readings and new essays, Lewis Porter.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Porter, Lewis, 1951-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Jazz--History and criticism.

Jazz.

Physical Description:

xi, 298 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Schirmer Books ; London : Prentice Hall International, [1997]

Summary:

Dr. Porter has written essays to frame a generous selection of rare writings by various authors between 1919 and 1997 (and one from 1856). The new essays and historic reprints tackle some key questions: Where did the word "jazz" come from? How is it defined? Where did the music come from? How can it be analyzed? What did white and black writers in America, England, and France have to say about early jazz, and later about bebop, avant-garde, fusion, and the new traditionalism? What are the problems of race and drugs within the jazz field? This book draws the reader into the lively, evolving process that is jazz history.

The author illustrates his themes with readings collected from a wide variety of publications for musicians and for general readers, both American and European. Most have never been reprinted, including little known writings by black scholars and musicians from the 1920s to today.

For a general history of jazz, or for those interested in learning more about jazz scholarship, this unique collection offers entertaining and thought-provoking essays that will give a flavor for the history of jazz literature.

Contents:

1. Where Did the Word Jazz Come From? 1

2. Definitions 13

3. Analyzing Jazz 39

4. Where Did the Music Come From? 77

5. Responses to Early Jazz, 1919 to 1934 121

6. African Americans and the Swing Era 159

7. Reactions to Bebop 173

8. The Drug Problem 189

9. Race Politics and Jazz in the 1950s and 1960s 197

10. Avant-garde and Fusion: Two Opposites? 1960 to the Present 219

11. Traditionalism, Revivalism, and the "Young Lions," 1980 to the Present 245

12. Crossing Boundaries, 1980 to the Present 275.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 283-285) and index.

ISBN:

0028647130

OCLC:

37132565