Philippe Carles and Jean-Louis Comolli
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9781628460391
- eISBN:
- 9781626740846
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781628460391.001.0001
- Subject:
- Music, History, American
Free Jazz/Black Power is a treatise on the racial and political implications of jazz and jazz criticism published in 1971 by two French jazz critics, Philippe Carles and Jean-Louis Comolli. The goal ...
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Free Jazz/Black Power is a treatise on the racial and political implications of jazz and jazz criticism published in 1971 by two French jazz critics, Philippe Carles and Jean-Louis Comolli. The goal of the book was to show that the strong and mostly negative reactions provoked by free jazz among classic jazz critics on both sides of the Atlantic could be better understood by analyzing the social, cultural and political origins of jazz itself, exposing its ties to African American culture, history, and the political struggle that was still raging in early 1970s USA. The authors analyze the circumstances of the production of jazz criticism as discourse, a work of cultural studies in a time and place where the practice as such was completely unknown. The book owes much to African American cultural and political thought. Carles and Comolli suggest that the African American struggle had to be seen as a singular branch of a worldwide class struggle, echoing more famous figures of the French Left of the time, such as Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, or Jean Genêt. Yet few were those that had articulated this de rigueur political backing with an in-depth cultural critique and analysis of the condition of African Americans informed by African Americans themselves.Less
Free Jazz/Black Power is a treatise on the racial and political implications of jazz and jazz criticism published in 1971 by two French jazz critics, Philippe Carles and Jean-Louis Comolli. The goal of the book was to show that the strong and mostly negative reactions provoked by free jazz among classic jazz critics on both sides of the Atlantic could be better understood by analyzing the social, cultural and political origins of jazz itself, exposing its ties to African American culture, history, and the political struggle that was still raging in early 1970s USA. The authors analyze the circumstances of the production of jazz criticism as discourse, a work of cultural studies in a time and place where the practice as such was completely unknown. The book owes much to African American cultural and political thought. Carles and Comolli suggest that the African American struggle had to be seen as a singular branch of a worldwide class struggle, echoing more famous figures of the French Left of the time, such as Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, or Jean Genêt. Yet few were those that had articulated this de rigueur political backing with an in-depth cultural critique and analysis of the condition of African Americans informed by African Americans themselves.
Philippe Carles and Jean-Louis Comolli
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9781628460391
- eISBN:
- 9781626740846
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781628460391.003.0004
- Subject:
- Music, History, American
This chapter looks at jazz in the time period between its commercialization in the 1920s and the bebop era in the mid-1940s. Jazz turned into harmless, expected entertainment music, formatted for the ...
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This chapter looks at jazz in the time period between its commercialization in the 1920s and the bebop era in the mid-1940s. Jazz turned into harmless, expected entertainment music, formatted for the white mainstream. In the process these characteristics most pertaining to African American experience were erased. Jazz critics integrated this flawed vision of the essence of jazz. Early critics defended jazz’s status as art, conforming it to Western cultural and aesthetic criteria. Later, serious jazz critics from France developed an equally problematic, racially essentialist vision of jazz. Its flaws were fully revealed with the rise of bebop, which they deemed blasphemy against “true jazz” whose rules they had created themselves.Less
This chapter looks at jazz in the time period between its commercialization in the 1920s and the bebop era in the mid-1940s. Jazz turned into harmless, expected entertainment music, formatted for the white mainstream. In the process these characteristics most pertaining to African American experience were erased. Jazz critics integrated this flawed vision of the essence of jazz. Early critics defended jazz’s status as art, conforming it to Western cultural and aesthetic criteria. Later, serious jazz critics from France developed an equally problematic, racially essentialist vision of jazz. Its flaws were fully revealed with the rise of bebop, which they deemed blasphemy against “true jazz” whose rules they had created themselves.
Michael Jarrett
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9781469630588
- eISBN:
- 9781469630601
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469630588.001.0001
- Subject:
- Music, Popular
In histories of music and audio technologies, and particularly in narratives about jazz, record producers tend to fall by the wayside. They're seldom acknowledged and generally unknown. But without ...
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In histories of music and audio technologies, and particularly in narratives about jazz, record producers tend to fall by the wayside. They're seldom acknowledged and generally unknown. But without them and their contributions to the art form, we’d have little on record of some of the most important music ever created. This oral history—organizing interviews gathered by music scholar Michael Jarrett—tells the stories behind some of jazz's best-selling and most influential albums. Beginning in the mid-'30s and continuing to the present, it draws together conversations with over fifty producers, musicians, engineers, and label executives. It shines a light on the world of making jazz record albums by letting producers tell their own stories and share their experiences in creating the American jazz canon. Packed with fascinating stories and fresh perspectives on over 200 albums and artists—including legends such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, and Miles Davis, as well as contemporary artists such as George Benson, Diana Krall, and Norah Jones—Pressed for All Time tells the unknown stories of the men and women who helped to shape the quintessential American sound.Less
In histories of music and audio technologies, and particularly in narratives about jazz, record producers tend to fall by the wayside. They're seldom acknowledged and generally unknown. But without them and their contributions to the art form, we’d have little on record of some of the most important music ever created. This oral history—organizing interviews gathered by music scholar Michael Jarrett—tells the stories behind some of jazz's best-selling and most influential albums. Beginning in the mid-'30s and continuing to the present, it draws together conversations with over fifty producers, musicians, engineers, and label executives. It shines a light on the world of making jazz record albums by letting producers tell their own stories and share their experiences in creating the American jazz canon. Packed with fascinating stories and fresh perspectives on over 200 albums and artists—including legends such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, and Miles Davis, as well as contemporary artists such as George Benson, Diana Krall, and Norah Jones—Pressed for All Time tells the unknown stories of the men and women who helped to shape the quintessential American sound.
Philippe Carles and Jean-Louis Comolli
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9781628460391
- eISBN:
- 9781626740846
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781628460391.003.0005
- Subject:
- Music, History, American
This transitional section takes stock of the contributions of traditional white, Western jazz criticism. It has reproduced in this specific field the alienation of African American culture at large ...
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This transitional section takes stock of the contributions of traditional white, Western jazz criticism. It has reproduced in this specific field the alienation of African American culture at large and music specifically from Western society. First scorned, African American music was assimilated with the help of critics. They notably contributed to an understanding of the music that eschewed social, historical and economic context in which the music was originally created. Promoting a classically Western understanding of art as distinct from social life, it allowed for a consumption of jazz devoid of political critique. This would change with the advent of black jazz criticism.Less
This transitional section takes stock of the contributions of traditional white, Western jazz criticism. It has reproduced in this specific field the alienation of African American culture at large and music specifically from Western society. First scorned, African American music was assimilated with the help of critics. They notably contributed to an understanding of the music that eschewed social, historical and economic context in which the music was originally created. Promoting a classically Western understanding of art as distinct from social life, it allowed for a consumption of jazz devoid of political critique. This would change with the advent of black jazz criticism.
Constance Valis Hill
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195390827
- eISBN:
- 9780199863563
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195390827.003.0004
- Subject:
- Music, History, American, Dance
This chapter begins with the “Jimtown Fisticuffs” challenge dance between Flournoy E. Miller and Aubrey Lyles in the 1921 Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle black musical comedy Shuffle Along, which ...
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This chapter begins with the “Jimtown Fisticuffs” challenge dance between Flournoy E. Miller and Aubrey Lyles in the 1921 Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle black musical comedy Shuffle Along, which launched the Jazz Age and black rhythm tap dancing on the Broadway stage. Jazz dancing was the driving engine of Shuffle Along, the source of visual, visceral, and aural excitement, especially as executed by the all-female chorus of Jazz Jasmines, who were consistently lauded for their unison dancing and rhythmic precision. Jazz tap dancing continued to ignite the rhythmic revolution in the 1920s with such black musicals as Put and Take, Strut Miss Lizzie, Runnin’ Wild, Dixie to Broadway, and Blackbirds of 1928, with its inventive and complex manipulations of time—and time stepping.Less
This chapter begins with the “Jimtown Fisticuffs” challenge dance between Flournoy E. Miller and Aubrey Lyles in the 1921 Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle black musical comedy Shuffle Along, which launched the Jazz Age and black rhythm tap dancing on the Broadway stage. Jazz dancing was the driving engine of Shuffle Along, the source of visual, visceral, and aural excitement, especially as executed by the all-female chorus of Jazz Jasmines, who were consistently lauded for their unison dancing and rhythmic precision. Jazz tap dancing continued to ignite the rhythmic revolution in the 1920s with such black musicals as Put and Take, Strut Miss Lizzie, Runnin’ Wild, Dixie to Broadway, and Blackbirds of 1928, with its inventive and complex manipulations of time—and time stepping.
Richard Barrios
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195377347
- eISBN:
- 9780199864577
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195377347.003.0002
- Subject:
- Music, Popular
A brief overview of the prehistory of sound film, from Thomas Edison through the work of Lee DeForest, noting that most of these early films were marked by musical performance. The origins of the ...
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A brief overview of the prehistory of sound film, from Thomas Edison through the work of Lee DeForest, noting that most of these early films were marked by musical performance. The origins of the Warner Bros. studio and, ultimately, its marketing of the Vitaphone sound system. Early sound films: Don Juan and Vitaphone, Giovanni Martinelli, Al Jolson, George Jessel. The rival studios begin work of their own. The culmination of this early period with Warners' The Jazz Singer, the success and impact of which have sometimes been misunderstood.Less
A brief overview of the prehistory of sound film, from Thomas Edison through the work of Lee DeForest, noting that most of these early films were marked by musical performance. The origins of the Warner Bros. studio and, ultimately, its marketing of the Vitaphone sound system. Early sound films: Don Juan and Vitaphone, Giovanni Martinelli, Al Jolson, George Jessel. The rival studios begin work of their own. The culmination of this early period with Warners' The Jazz Singer, the success and impact of which have sometimes been misunderstood.
Richard Barrios
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195377347
- eISBN:
- 9780199864577
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195377347.003.0008
- Subject:
- Music, Popular
Another distinctive trend was the all-star revue film, as produced by most of the major studios. Each would serve as a guidepost to its company's reigning aesthetic as it addressed the new world of ...
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Another distinctive trend was the all-star revue film, as produced by most of the major studios. Each would serve as a guidepost to its company's reigning aesthetic as it addressed the new world of sound films. With The Hollywood Revue, MGM triumphed through a wise use of stars and production knowhow. With Show of Shows, Warner Bros. failed through a misspent budget and indifferent material. While Fox's Happy Days was tepid, Paramount on Parade was witty and resourceful. Universal's King of Jazz, by far the most spectacular of the revues, found artistic success at the expense of diminished audience favor. Seldom, after 1930, would such work ever be tried again.Less
Another distinctive trend was the all-star revue film, as produced by most of the major studios. Each would serve as a guidepost to its company's reigning aesthetic as it addressed the new world of sound films. With The Hollywood Revue, MGM triumphed through a wise use of stars and production knowhow. With Show of Shows, Warner Bros. failed through a misspent budget and indifferent material. While Fox's Happy Days was tepid, Paramount on Parade was witty and resourceful. Universal's King of Jazz, by far the most spectacular of the revues, found artistic success at the expense of diminished audience favor. Seldom, after 1930, would such work ever be tried again.
Josephine Nock-Hee Park
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195332735
- eISBN:
- 9780199868148
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195332735.003.0004
- Subject:
- Literature, Poetry, American, 20th Century Literature
This chapter presents a spectrum of poetic responses to American Orientalism by Asian American poets in the early years of the ethnic nationalist movement. Largely forgotten poets like David Hsin‐Fu ...
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This chapter presents a spectrum of poetic responses to American Orientalism by Asian American poets in the early years of the ethnic nationalist movement. Largely forgotten poets like David Hsin‐Fu Wand played native informant to both Pound and Snyder, but the Orient was a prisonhouse for activist poet Lawson Fusao Inada, who turned instead to African American and Chicano artistic influences. In reading the differing transpacific and American alliances imagined by Asian American artists, this chapter argues that a literary legacy of Orientalism exerted significant pressure on the formation of Asian American poetry.Less
This chapter presents a spectrum of poetic responses to American Orientalism by Asian American poets in the early years of the ethnic nationalist movement. Largely forgotten poets like David Hsin‐Fu Wand played native informant to both Pound and Snyder, but the Orient was a prisonhouse for activist poet Lawson Fusao Inada, who turned instead to African American and Chicano artistic influences. In reading the differing transpacific and American alliances imagined by Asian American artists, this chapter argues that a literary legacy of Orientalism exerted significant pressure on the formation of Asian American poetry.
Williams Martin
- Published in print:
- 1993
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195083491
- eISBN:
- 9780199853205
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195083491.003.0001
- Subject:
- Music, Popular
Earl Hines was one of the few contemporary pianists who molded the history of jazz music. In a cold Friday evening in 1964, Earl Hines performed the first on a multiple series of concerts held at ...
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Earl Hines was one of the few contemporary pianists who molded the history of jazz music. In a cold Friday evening in 1964, Earl Hines performed the first on a multiple series of concerts held at Broadway's Little Theatre. The concert was a success and the start of arguably the greatest comeback in the history of jazz. He was featured on an influential profile by Whitney Balliett as a famous jazz performer. He was chosen to represent the United States on a visit to Soviet Republic. And he was enacted in Down Beat's Jazz “Hall of Fame”, joining other famous musicians such as Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington, Count Basic, Coleman Hawkins, and Louis Armstrong.Less
Earl Hines was one of the few contemporary pianists who molded the history of jazz music. In a cold Friday evening in 1964, Earl Hines performed the first on a multiple series of concerts held at Broadway's Little Theatre. The concert was a success and the start of arguably the greatest comeback in the history of jazz. He was featured on an influential profile by Whitney Balliett as a famous jazz performer. He was chosen to represent the United States on a visit to Soviet Republic. And he was enacted in Down Beat's Jazz “Hall of Fame”, joining other famous musicians such as Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington, Count Basic, Coleman Hawkins, and Louis Armstrong.
Williams Martin
- Published in print:
- 1993
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195083491
- eISBN:
- 9780199853205
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195083491.003.0004
- Subject:
- Music, Popular
Gerry Mulligan was an American jazz saxophonist, arranger, and composer. Mulligan is primarily famous as the leading baritone saxophonists in the history of jazz. Mulligan organized his first ...
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Gerry Mulligan was an American jazz saxophonist, arranger, and composer. Mulligan is primarily famous as the leading baritone saxophonists in the history of jazz. Mulligan organized his first “Concert Jazz Band” in the spring of 1960. The band differed in personnel and size from other bands, with the core group being five reeds, six brasses, and a piano-less two-piece rhythmic section. The band recorded and toured rigorously until the end of 1964, producing five record albums for Verve records. The Concert Jazz Band was “reunited” in 1978 and toured at various times through the next decade.Less
Gerry Mulligan was an American jazz saxophonist, arranger, and composer. Mulligan is primarily famous as the leading baritone saxophonists in the history of jazz. Mulligan organized his first “Concert Jazz Band” in the spring of 1960. The band differed in personnel and size from other bands, with the core group being five reeds, six brasses, and a piano-less two-piece rhythmic section. The band recorded and toured rigorously until the end of 1964, producing five record albums for Verve records. The Concert Jazz Band was “reunited” in 1978 and toured at various times through the next decade.
Williams Martin
- Published in print:
- 1993
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195083491
- eISBN:
- 9780199853205
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195083491.003.0007
- Subject:
- Music, Popular
John Lewis was an American jazz pianist and composer most famous for being the musical director of the Modern Jazz Quartet. The Modern Jazz Quartet, in its quarter of a century history, had risen to ...
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John Lewis was an American jazz pianist and composer most famous for being the musical director of the Modern Jazz Quartet. The Modern Jazz Quartet, in its quarter of a century history, had risen to prominence as the most renowned, most critically acclaimed, and most durable small ensemble in the history of jazz. It is one of the greatest ensembles ever to have existd, that is other than the Duke Ellington orchestra. Lewis also provided the musical score to the documentary “De I'eau et de I'espoir” (Of Water and Hope), which tackles the assistance of American in Morocco's water conservation.Less
John Lewis was an American jazz pianist and composer most famous for being the musical director of the Modern Jazz Quartet. The Modern Jazz Quartet, in its quarter of a century history, had risen to prominence as the most renowned, most critically acclaimed, and most durable small ensemble in the history of jazz. It is one of the greatest ensembles ever to have existd, that is other than the Duke Ellington orchestra. Lewis also provided the musical score to the documentary “De I'eau et de I'espoir” (Of Water and Hope), which tackles the assistance of American in Morocco's water conservation.
Williams Martin
- Published in print:
- 1993
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195083491
- eISBN:
- 9780199853205
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195083491.003.0011
- Subject:
- Music, Popular
The Jimmy Giuffre–Bob Brookmeyer Five was a short-lived endeavour for both musicians. After the split, Bob Brookmeyer spent a huge chunk of his years recording jingles, playing as accompaniment to a ...
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The Jimmy Giuffre–Bob Brookmeyer Five was a short-lived endeavour for both musicians. After the split, Bob Brookmeyer spent a huge chunk of his years recording jingles, playing as accompaniment to a wide variety of pop musicians as well as participating in other tasks pertaining to studio work. But this time, Giuffre, who played clarinet and tenor saxophone, and Bob Brookmeyer, who played valve trombone, were once again reunited to form the new quintet. The bassist was Chuck Israels and the drummer was Steve Schaeffer. The group conducted its rehearsals at Giuffre's studio. It was known to the public at one of the Jazz Interactions Sunday afternoon sessions.Less
The Jimmy Giuffre–Bob Brookmeyer Five was a short-lived endeavour for both musicians. After the split, Bob Brookmeyer spent a huge chunk of his years recording jingles, playing as accompaniment to a wide variety of pop musicians as well as participating in other tasks pertaining to studio work. But this time, Giuffre, who played clarinet and tenor saxophone, and Bob Brookmeyer, who played valve trombone, were once again reunited to form the new quintet. The bassist was Chuck Israels and the drummer was Steve Schaeffer. The group conducted its rehearsals at Giuffre's studio. It was known to the public at one of the Jazz Interactions Sunday afternoon sessions.
Williams Martin
- Published in print:
- 1993
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195083491
- eISBN:
- 9780199853205
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195083491.003.0016
- Subject:
- Music, Popular
The story goes that in 1938 in Washington, D.C., police arrested two men attempting to enter the Library of Congress. Apparently, the men were avid record collectors and they wanted to enter the ...
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The story goes that in 1938 in Washington, D.C., police arrested two men attempting to enter the Library of Congress. Apparently, the men were avid record collectors and they wanted to enter the Folklore Archives of the Library to duplicate the Jelly Roll Morton collection. This story was told in Marshall Stearns' “Story of Jazz.” The record features “Hyena Stomp”, which gives a picture on what type of jazz music Morton wanted to create.Less
The story goes that in 1938 in Washington, D.C., police arrested two men attempting to enter the Library of Congress. Apparently, the men were avid record collectors and they wanted to enter the Folklore Archives of the Library to duplicate the Jelly Roll Morton collection. This story was told in Marshall Stearns' “Story of Jazz.” The record features “Hyena Stomp”, which gives a picture on what type of jazz music Morton wanted to create.
Williams Martin
- Published in print:
- 1993
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195083491
- eISBN:
- 9780199853205
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195083491.003.0034
- Subject:
- Music, Popular
Founded and directed by Chuck Israels, the National Jazz Ensemble with an effort produced a repertory orchestra to play classic records from the full array of jazz history. It performed everything ...
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Founded and directed by Chuck Israels, the National Jazz Ensemble with an effort produced a repertory orchestra to play classic records from the full array of jazz history. It performed everything from Jelly Roll Morton's “Black Bottom Stomp” through Horace Silver's “Room 608”, from early Ellington through Bill Evans. It raised all of the problems implied by jazz repertory and except for its approach to the New Orleans classics, faced them in provocative and fruitful ways. It therefore paved the way for a musical activity which will be a valuable part of the future of jazz music in America.Less
Founded and directed by Chuck Israels, the National Jazz Ensemble with an effort produced a repertory orchestra to play classic records from the full array of jazz history. It performed everything from Jelly Roll Morton's “Black Bottom Stomp” through Horace Silver's “Room 608”, from early Ellington through Bill Evans. It raised all of the problems implied by jazz repertory and except for its approach to the New Orleans classics, faced them in provocative and fruitful ways. It therefore paved the way for a musical activity which will be a valuable part of the future of jazz music in America.
Williams Martin
- Published in print:
- 1993
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195083491
- eISBN:
- 9780199853205
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195083491.003.0044
- Subject:
- Music, Popular
“European Concert” is a two-record set performed by the Modern Jazz Quartet in Sweden. The performance in general is very near to perfection. It is a like an anniversary set in that the Quartet was ...
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“European Concert” is a two-record set performed by the Modern Jazz Quartet in Sweden. The performance in general is very near to perfection. It is a like an anniversary set in that the Quartet was formed nearly ten years ago at a recording session for which its four original members were gathered. The quartet comprises of John Lewis, piano and musical director; Milt Jackson, vibraphone; Percy Heath, bass; and Connie Kay, drums. They discovered that they enjoyed playing together very much and they decided to continue. The remarkable feat is that they continue to play with the same passion and commitment to improvisation that they had at the start, and with an magnificent increase in expressive range and sensitive group interplay.Less
“European Concert” is a two-record set performed by the Modern Jazz Quartet in Sweden. The performance in general is very near to perfection. It is a like an anniversary set in that the Quartet was formed nearly ten years ago at a recording session for which its four original members were gathered. The quartet comprises of John Lewis, piano and musical director; Milt Jackson, vibraphone; Percy Heath, bass; and Connie Kay, drums. They discovered that they enjoyed playing together very much and they decided to continue. The remarkable feat is that they continue to play with the same passion and commitment to improvisation that they had at the start, and with an magnificent increase in expressive range and sensitive group interplay.
Williams Martin
- Published in print:
- 1993
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195083491
- eISBN:
- 9780199853205
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195083491.003.0049
- Subject:
- Music, Popular
Recently, the Jazz Gallery, a huge New York jazz club, which had a doubtful career for a couple of years, finally closed for good. Business at other clubs was reportedly poor, and there had been ...
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Recently, the Jazz Gallery, a huge New York jazz club, which had a doubtful career for a couple of years, finally closed for good. Business at other clubs was reportedly poor, and there had been constant suggestions from the owners about “putting in some strippers.” The history of such places—particularly in New York and also in other big cities—has been directly tied to the evolution of the music. And most jazz clubs have come and disappeared as new styles have risen, became popular, and declined in their following. There is realistic evidence that the sign that there would be some business flops in clubs featuring contemporary jazz came about a couple of years ago.Less
Recently, the Jazz Gallery, a huge New York jazz club, which had a doubtful career for a couple of years, finally closed for good. Business at other clubs was reportedly poor, and there had been constant suggestions from the owners about “putting in some strippers.” The history of such places—particularly in New York and also in other big cities—has been directly tied to the evolution of the music. And most jazz clubs have come and disappeared as new styles have risen, became popular, and declined in their following. There is realistic evidence that the sign that there would be some business flops in clubs featuring contemporary jazz came about a couple of years ago.
Adam Gussow
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9781469633664
- eISBN:
- 9781469633688
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469633664.001.0001
- Subject:
- Music, History, American
This book explores the role played by the devil figure within an evolving blues tradition. It pays particular attention to the lyrics of recorded blues songs, but it also seeks to tell a story about ...
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This book explores the role played by the devil figure within an evolving blues tradition. It pays particular attention to the lyrics of recorded blues songs, but it also seeks to tell a story about blues-invested southern lives. The first four chapters investigate, in sequence, the origins and meaning of the phrase "the devil's music" within black southern communities; the devil as a figure who empowers and haunts migrant black blueswomen in the urban North of the Jazz Age; the devil as a symbol of white maleficence and an icon for black southern bluesmen entrapped in the "hell" of the Jim Crow system; and the devil as shape-shifting troublemaker within blues songs lamenting failed romantic relationships. The fifth chapter is an extended meditation on the figure of Robert Johnson. It offers, in sequence, a new interpretation of Johnson's life and music under the sign of his mentor, Ike Zimmerman; a reading of Walter Hill's Crossroads (1986) that aligns the film with the racial anxieties of modern blues culture; and a narrative history detailing the way in which the townspeople of Clarksdale, Mississippi transformed a pair of unimportant side streets into "the crossroads" over a sixty-year period, rebranding their town as the devil's territory and Johnson's chosen haunt, a mecca for blues tourism in the contemporary Delta.Less
This book explores the role played by the devil figure within an evolving blues tradition. It pays particular attention to the lyrics of recorded blues songs, but it also seeks to tell a story about blues-invested southern lives. The first four chapters investigate, in sequence, the origins and meaning of the phrase "the devil's music" within black southern communities; the devil as a figure who empowers and haunts migrant black blueswomen in the urban North of the Jazz Age; the devil as a symbol of white maleficence and an icon for black southern bluesmen entrapped in the "hell" of the Jim Crow system; and the devil as shape-shifting troublemaker within blues songs lamenting failed romantic relationships. The fifth chapter is an extended meditation on the figure of Robert Johnson. It offers, in sequence, a new interpretation of Johnson's life and music under the sign of his mentor, Ike Zimmerman; a reading of Walter Hill's Crossroads (1986) that aligns the film with the racial anxieties of modern blues culture; and a narrative history detailing the way in which the townspeople of Clarksdale, Mississippi transformed a pair of unimportant side streets into "the crossroads" over a sixty-year period, rebranding their town as the devil's territory and Johnson's chosen haunt, a mecca for blues tourism in the contemporary Delta.
Philippe Carles and Jean-Louis Comolli
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9781628460391
- eISBN:
- 9781626740846
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781628460391.003.0001
- Subject:
- Music, History, American
In the original introduction to the book, the authors define free jazz as a revolutionary mix of politics and music intolerable for mainstream, bourgeois listeners and critics. It approaches jazz the ...
More
In the original introduction to the book, the authors define free jazz as a revolutionary mix of politics and music intolerable for mainstream, bourgeois listeners and critics. It approaches jazz the way the Black Power movement approaches politics. They recognize the influence of Amiri Baraka’s writings on their outlook, but stray from his cultural nationalism to assert that free jazz participates in global, anti-colonial struggles. They mean to expose how free jazz forces this struggle into critical discourse.Less
In the original introduction to the book, the authors define free jazz as a revolutionary mix of politics and music intolerable for mainstream, bourgeois listeners and critics. It approaches jazz the way the Black Power movement approaches politics. They recognize the influence of Amiri Baraka’s writings on their outlook, but stray from his cultural nationalism to assert that free jazz participates in global, anti-colonial struggles. They mean to expose how free jazz forces this struggle into critical discourse.
Philippe Carles and Jean-Louis Comolli
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9781628460391
- eISBN:
- 9781626740846
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781628460391.003.0003
- Subject:
- Music, History, American
This chapter explores the impact of white appropriation and commercial interests on the evolution of jazz. They long contributed to the economic exploitation of black musicians and in imposing white ...
More
This chapter explores the impact of white appropriation and commercial interests on the evolution of jazz. They long contributed to the economic exploitation of black musicians and in imposing white values and preferences over jazz. Free jazz musicians show awareness of their economic position in the music business and their music can be read as a political decision to break from it.Less
This chapter explores the impact of white appropriation and commercial interests on the evolution of jazz. They long contributed to the economic exploitation of black musicians and in imposing white values and preferences over jazz. Free jazz musicians show awareness of their economic position in the music business and their music can be read as a political decision to break from it.
Philippe Carles and Jean-Louis Comolli
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9781628460391
- eISBN:
- 9781626740846
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781628460391.003.0008
- Subject:
- Music, History, American
This chapter looks more specifically at 20th century African American history, paralleling the evolution of African American musical and artistic forms and African American social and economic ...
More
This chapter looks more specifically at 20th century African American history, paralleling the evolution of African American musical and artistic forms and African American social and economic condition in the United States. The profound changes brought about by World War I and the Great Migration, new hopes and ambitions as are echoed in the lyrics and themes developed in the music, but also in changing musical forms from the blues to bebop in the 1940s. Bebop’s challenge to swing was soon absorbed by the mainstream, but the same dedication to iconoclasm and black musical roots can be heard in later musical genres from electric blues and soul to hard bop, all of which bear the marks of the African American struggle for Civil Rights.Less
This chapter looks more specifically at 20th century African American history, paralleling the evolution of African American musical and artistic forms and African American social and economic condition in the United States. The profound changes brought about by World War I and the Great Migration, new hopes and ambitions as are echoed in the lyrics and themes developed in the music, but also in changing musical forms from the blues to bebop in the 1940s. Bebop’s challenge to swing was soon absorbed by the mainstream, but the same dedication to iconoclasm and black musical roots can be heard in later musical genres from electric blues and soul to hard bop, all of which bear the marks of the African American struggle for Civil Rights.
