| Contents |
Preface to the second edition -- Preface to the first edition -- Part one: The beginning (1619-1870s). Slave era: the Black man in Colonial America -- African heritage: an Influence in musical tradition. Words, rhythm and dance ; Melody and harmony ; Form ; Timbre ; Texture -- Early folk music. Calls, cries, hollers, and shouts ; Work and play songs ; Text and technique ; Composers -- Spirituals. Content and purpose ; Melody and harmony ; Texture ; Ornamentation in spirituals ; Rhythm ; Form ; Timbre ; Originality of spirituals ; Influence of the spirituals -- Part two: The awakening (1800s-1950s). Modern period: the emergence of Black professionals -- Black minstrels. Origins of American minstrelsy ; Media and minstrel participants ; Form ; Ballads, blues, and hybrids ; Early composer-performers ; Later composers ; Other composers ; The influence of Black minstrelsy -- Jazz: its definitions, history and influence. Definition ; History ; The influence of jazz -- Jazz forms, styles, techniques and performance. Form ; Ragtime ; Blues ; Boogie-woogie ; Gospel ; Rock ; Styles and techniques ; Performance -- Composers of jazz and its allied forms. Jazz composers ; Gospel composers ; Blues, rock, and pop composers ; Blues ; Rock, rhythm 'n' blues ; Postscript I: other composers -- Art music: its definitions, trends and traditional composers. Definition ; Forms ; American forebears in retrospect ; Neo-Romantic composers of the modern period ; Modern composers ; Postscript II: other composers ; Composers and performers -- Part three: Freedom now (1950s-1990s). Contemporary period: the Black revolution. The breakthrough -- Contemporary jazz and its agnates. Composers ; Other composers of jazz and agnate forms (Jazz ; Gospel ; Rock and rap ; Rock and pop ; Postscript III: other composers) -- Contemporary forms, trends and composers of new music -- Part four: The Pan-African axis: Restoration and reviviscence. Prolusions three: Research, race, and Pan-Africanism. Prolusion I: Research and reason ; Prolusion II: Race and rumors ; Prolusion III: Pan-Africanism -- Pan-African composers: Latin America, The Islands, and Europe. Composers of Latin America and the Islands ; Introduction ; The influence of Calypso ; Other forms ; Instruments ; Composers of Latin America and the Islands ; Postscript V ; Composers of Europe: forebears, followers and figurations ; Postscript VI: Other composers -- Pan-African composers: Africa. New Africa: a cyclic return ; Pedagogy, predecessors, placements, and projections ; Forerunners and griots ; Composers in changing traditions I: African traditionalism ; Composers in changing traditions II: "Third stream" ; Postscript VII: Other composers ; Conclusion -- The future: Art music versus popular music? -- Appendixes. Appendix A. Musical terms and selected words ; Appendix B. Readings, recordings & related resources ; Appendix C. List of composers, publishers, record companies and research centers. |
| Abstract |
Revised and expanded, this important text is designed to introduce the beginning scholar to various types of Pan-African music, from Africa to the Americas. With an emphasis upon the African American composer, this survey uses musical examples and illustrations to pinpoint beginning influences, the slave era, the emergence of the black professional, and contemporary trends. Discussions center upon classical and popular forms, and offer the music of William Grant Still alongside that of such jazz personalities as Edward (Duke) Ellington, Ferdinand (Jelly Roll) Morton, rap artist M. C. Hammer, and rock star Michael Jackson. Suitable for use in semester-length courses on African American Music, the book captures the fascinating story of a proud heritage whose roots grew centuries ago, and whose influences serve as a backdrop not only for African American music, but as a cornerstone for other American music as well. |
