The Creation of Jazz: Music, Race, and Culture in Urban America (Blacks in the New World) (Paperback)

~ (Author) "In the beginning, there were Africans in America, striving to hold onto Africa..." (more)
Key Phrases: autobiography typescript, migrant musicians, jazz subculture, New Orleans, New York, South Side (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this well-researched, important sociocultural study of the development of jazz between 1900 and 1940, Peretti argues that jazz--an urban music--was essentially "created" between 1915 and 1930 when Southern blacks migrated north to places like Kansas City and Chicago. According to the author, who teaches American studies at the University of Kansas, jazz rose as a cultural triumph, acquiring "its expressive potential and social meaning" despite big-city class and racial divisions. Peretti, relying heavily on oral history and newspaper accounts, examines such topics as differences between blues and jazz, the influence of European classical music and white musicians on early jazz, the effects on musicians of economic shifts and profiteers, race relations and male dominance among these cultural pioneers. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

Jazz is an urban music that grew out of city stimuli and fulfilled urban social functions, says historian Peretti. He focuses on the era 1900-40 and cites wide readings and interviews with musicians, including Willie Humphrey, Edward "Kid" Ory, and Milt Hinton. Peretti explains how jazz was shaped by urbanization, the "great migration" of Southern blacks northward, and the "jazz image"--dress code, jargon, and use of drugs. Peretti places jazz in its rich social context, building on works of Sidney Finkelstein ( Jazz: A People's Music , 1948) and Neil Leonard ( Jazz: Myth and Religion , LJ 3/1/87; Jazz and the White Americans , 1962). For most academic music collections.
- Paul Baker, CUNA Inc., Madison, Wis.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press (August 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0252064216
• ISBN-13: 978-0252064210
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: No customer reviews yet. Be the first.
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #398,810 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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