The Jazz of the Southwest: An Oral History of Western Swing (Hardcover)

by Jean A. Boyd (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
Although Boyd states that 'this book is only a beginning', Jazz of the Southwest is, in fact, a rich source of information on both the music and the men who made the music. It is a thoughtful and readable celebration of western swing. (Western Historical Quarterly ) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description
They may wear cowboy hats and boots and sing about "faded love," but western swing musicians have always played jazz! From Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys to Asleep at the Wheel, western swing performers have played swing jazz on traditional country instruments, with all of the required elements of jazz, and some of the best solo improvisation ever heard. In this book, Jean A. Boyd explores the origins and development of western swing as a vibrant current in the mainstream of jazz. She focuses in particular on the performers who made the music, drawing on personal interviews with some fifty living western swing musicians. From pioneers such as Cliff Bruner and Eldon Shamblin to current performers such as Johnny Gimble, the musicians make important connections between the big band swing jazz they heard on the radio and the western swing they created and played across the Southwest from Texas to California. From this first-hand testimony, Boyd re-creates the world of western swing--the dance halls, recording studios, and live radio shows that broadcast the music to an enthusiastic listening audience. Although the performers typically came from the same rural roots that nurtured country music, their words make it clear that they considered themselves neither "hillbillies" nor "country pickers," but jazz musicians whose performance approach and repertory were no different from those of mainstream jazz. This important aspect of the western swing story has never been told before.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 269 pages
• Publisher: Univ of Texas Pr; 1st edition (May 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0292708599
• ISBN-13: 978-0292708594
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,082,850 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good pickins' from the memories of those who played it, October 29, 1998

By A Customer

Ms. Boyd (no relation to the Boyd brothers Bill, Jim and Clyde who hotted up the radio waves around Dallas in the late '40s) went to the trouble to look up many of the stars of western swing and record their stories.

It's a workmanlike effort, clearly stating its generalizations from the oral histories, and offering many quotes from those who played with Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, the Sons of the Pioneers, and dozens of the less famous and more specialized bands.

There are a number of pages of photographs.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A useful and important work, May 19, 2005

By	Tony Thomas (SUNNY ISLES BEACH, FL USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: The Jazz of the Southwest: An Oral History of Western Swing (Paperback)

As much as I am sympathetic to my good friend Buddy McPeters, and share his concern for the lack of value his attempt to document the history of Junior Barnard and other Western Swing greats [buddy should have a book of his own interviews, writings, and reminiscences published], I would like to endorse this book as a useful book for people trying to understand Western Swing.

That is largely because there isn't much on the shelf, other than biographies of this or that performer or band, written to be interesting, but not written to be analytical. The existing books tend to provide a wealth of information about bands, or specific periods of the music. They leave us with joy and perhaps personal celebration, but they don't answer questions that need to be answered to explain Western Swing.

Boyd attempts to analyze Western Swing and designate it as part of Jazz, a definition that many people still resist out of ignorance. Rather than treating Western Swing as a cultural phenomena, she discusses it in musical terms, and relates the methods of playing each instrument to jazz playing of contemporaries. She also cites interviews with a number of players of each instrument about Western swing playign on their instrument and their own personal experience. She also gives a picture of Western Swing in in fall from popularity in the late 1950s and 1960s.

I came upon this book in a discussion on a fiddler's list about when Western Swing began. A very wise person who recommended that all interested in that question read this book, helped us clarify that question, not because of some story Boyd tells, but because of way she teaches us how the music developed.

One has the feeling that more funding, more time, more support from the publisher might have brought fourth a larger book. One has the feeling the author is reaching a bit far sometimes to situate some of the music as just Jazz.

However, I think the problem is the paucity of books on the subject of Western Swing. Because we want more, because those of us have spoken with the old timers, or haunt the web sites, the reunions, etc, want more, we tend to put too much pressure on the few books to appear. What is really needed is a greater study of Western swing both in regard to analysis, formal musical study, and memories.

This one is worth a read because it tries to present categories to judge Western swing and its development. Perhaps more struggle, more writing by experts like my friend Buddy will show this text's inadquacies. Yet, until that happens, this is one of the best, if only, books out there.

TT

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Fair, June 11, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Jazz of the Southwest: An Oral History of Western Swing (Paperback)

This is not what I'd call an oral history. There were interviews but the bland voice that tells this story is the author's. Jean Boyd is not a storyteller. A lot of the information conflicts with what I've read elsewhere but there is no perspective. Also odd is to seperate the chapters by instrument so there is no chronological sense. It then becomes the story of the mucians. It's interesting but not a great book.