Why Jazz?: A Concise Guide

185 Pages·2011·0.7 MB·English

by  Kevin Whitehead

WHY JAZZ?
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WHY JAZZ?
A CONCISE GUIDE

KEVIN WHITEHEAD
2011
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Copyright © 2011 by Oxford University Press, Inc.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Whitehead, Kevin.
Why jazz? : a concise guide / by Kevin Whitehead.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-19-973118-3
1. Jazz—analysis, appreciation. I. Title.
ML3506.W53 2011
781.65—dc22 2010007442
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
for Irving and Stephanie Stone
in general
and Anne and Dave Tiff any
in particular
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Acknowledgments
This book came together during a nomadic year. Jim Macnie and Holly
Halvarson off ered the perfect country hermitage in which to write it,
and while it germinated I happily abused the hospitality of Anne and
Dave Tiff any, Jodi Gilbert and Michael Moore, Eric Boeren and Eliza-
beth Ford, Susanna von Canon, and Hope Carr—not forgetting Eliza-
beth Tiff any, Reuben Moore, Cecilia and Lucy Boeren, and Misha and
Crockett Macnie. It’s impossible to thank every colleague whose views
inform mine, but in recent years talks with Allan Chase, Dominique
Eade, Michael Moore, and Sherrie Tucker have been especially stimu-
lating. I learned a lot from Allan when we collaborated on an abortive
book project a few years ago, and he generously vetted this manuscript.
Also of help in ways they may not even know about: Bob Blumenthal,
Francis Davis, Dorice Elliott, Guus Janssen, Richard Kershenbaum,
Art Lange, Lucille Marino, Joe McPhee, Anna Neill, Francesca
Patella, Lloyd Sachs, Larry Stanley, Deb Olin Unferth, Karin and Jamie,
viii acknowledgments
•
Catherine and Indigo, and the Rhode Island Department of Envi-
ronmental Management. At Oxford University Press, Cybele Tom
got this project moving, and Suzanne Ryan and Madelyn Sutton
brought it home.
Deep bows to producers Roberta Shorrock and Danny Miller of
NPR’s Fresh Air, and editors Michael Azerrad and Joe Keyes at eMusic
.com, for letting me cover varied jazz topics year in and year out. Some
material here began to take shape under their auspices. At the Univer-
sity of Kansas I taught a two-semester jazz history course four years
running; thanks to American Studies chairs Norm Yetman, David
Katzman, and Cheryl Lester for the privilege, and to many students for
their excellent questions.
Contents
introduction 1
1. the basics 5
2. jazz from its origins to 1940
Roots, Early Jazz, the Swing Era 19
3. jazz 1940–1960
Bebop, Cool, Hard Bop 55
4. jazz 1960–1980
The Avant-Garde and Its Aftermath 85
5. jazz after 1980
The Postmodern Period 109
Glossary 137
Notes 143
Discography 145
Suggestions for Further Reading 151
Index 157