John Lewis and the challenge of "real" Black music / Christopher Coady.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Coady, Christopher, 1980- author.

Series:

Jazz perspectives (Ann Arbor, Mich.)

Jazz perspectives

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Lewis, John, 1920-2001--Criticism and interpretation.

Lewis, John.

Lewis, John, 1920-2001.

Modern Jazz Quartet.

Third stream (Music)--History and criticism.

Third stream (Music).

Jazz--1941-1950--History and criticism.

Jazz.

Jazz--1951-1960--History and criticism.

Music and race--United States--History--20th century.

Music and race.

History.

Criticism and interpretation.

United States.

Genre:

Criticism, interpretation, etc.

History.

Physical Description:

x, 241 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Ann Arbor : University of Michigan Press, [2016]

Summary:

For critics and listeners, the reception of the 1950s jazz-classical hybrid Third Stream music has long been fraught. Christopher Coady explores the work ofone of the form's most vital practitioners, following Lewis from his role as an arranger for Miles Davis's Birth of the Cool sessions to his leadershipof the Modern Jazz Quartet, his tours of Europe, and his stewardship of the Lenox School of Jazz. Along the way Coady shows how Lewis's fusion works helped shore up a failing jazz industry in the wake of the 1940s big band decline, forging a new sound grounded in middle-class African American musical traditions. By taking into account the sociocultural milieu of the 1950s, Coady provides a wider context for understanding the music Lewis wrote for the Modern Jazz Quartet and sets up new ways of thinking about Cool Jazzand Third Stream music more broadly.

Contents:

1 Branching Out: The Great Era of Venue Creation 24

2 "Bearded Undertakers": Rhythm and Reputation 60

3 "Finesse, Precision, and Logic": Musical Traditions and the African American Elite 83

4 Composition in Context: Lewis and the MJQ, 1952-62 114

5 Lewis and Film Noir 156

6 "Real" Black Music 172.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references, filmography, and index.

ISBN:

9780472053209

0472053205

9780472073207

0472073206

OCLC:

949986704