Representing jazz / edited by Krin Gabbard.
| Other author | Gabbard, Krin, editor. |
| Format | Book |
| Publication Info | Durham : Duke University Press, 1995. |
| Description | viii, 320 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm |
| Subjects |
| Contents | Introduction: writing the other history / Krin Gabbard -- Jammin' the blues, or the sight of jazz, 1944 / Arthur Knight -- Improvising and mythmaking in Eudora Welty's "Powerhouse" / Leland H. Chambers -- Fabulating jazz / Frederick Garber -- Signifyin(g) the phallus: Mo' better blues and representations of the jazz trumpet / Krin Gabbard -- Jazz autobiography: theory, practice, politics / Christopher Harlos -- Uptown folk: blackness and entertainment in Cabin in the sky / James Naremore -- Doubling, music, and race in Cabin in the sky / Adam Knee -- Divine frivolity: Hollywood representations of the Lindy Hop, 1937-1942 / Robert P. Crease -- Keeping the spirit alive: the jazz dance testament of Mura Dehn / Karen Backstein -- Jazz and the New York School / Mona Hadler -- The tenor's vehicle: reading Way out West / Michael Jarrett -- Purple passages or fiestas in blue? Notes toward an aesthetic of vocalese / Barry Keith Grant. |
| Abstract | Traditional jazz studies have tended to see jazz in purely musical terms, as a series of changes in rhythm, tonality, and harmony, or as a parade of great players. But jazz has also entered the cultural mix through its significant impact on novelists, filmmakers, dancers, painters, biographers, and photographers. This book explores the "other" history of jazz created by these artists, a history that tells us as much about the meaning of the music as do the many books that narrate the lives of musicians or describe their recordings. The editor has gathered essays by distinguished writers from a variety of fields. They provide engaging analyses of films such as Round Midnight, Bird, Mo? Better Blues, Cabin in the Sky, and Jammin' the Blues; the writings of Eudora Welty and Dorothy Baker; the careers of the great lindy hoppers of the 1930s and 1940s; Mura Dehn's extraordinary documentary on jazz dance; the jazz photography of William Claxton; painters of the New York School; the traditions of jazz autobiography; and the art of "vocalese." The contributors to this volume assess the influence of extramusical sources on our knowledge of jazz and suggest that the living contexts of the music must be considered if a more sophisticated jazz scholarship is ever to evolve. Transcending the familiar patterns of jazz history and criticism, this book looks at how the music actually has been heard and felt at different levels of American culture. With its companion anthology, Jazz Among the Discourses, this volume will enrich and transform the literature of jazz studies. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| LCCN | 94037347 |
| ISBN | 0822315793 |
| ISBN | 9780822315797 |
| ISBN | 0822315947 (pbk.) |
Availability
| Library | Location | Call Number | Status | Item Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Music | Closed Stacks - Ask at Circulation Desk | ML3507 .R47 1995 | ✔ Available | Place Hold |