Pre-1900

Amiri Baraka’s "Blues People" at Fifty : William J. Harris

This comprehensive study, the first to be written by an African American, is a precursor to the fields of cultural studies and critical race theory. William J. Harris discusses the implications of this sociocultural history of African American music and its unique place in American music history and culture. The talk marks the 50th anniversary of Amiri Baraka’s classic, which was published in New York City On September 25, 1963 with a first impression of 5000 copies and never went out of print.

Early Jazz History and Criticism Bibliography

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Pre-1940 Writings

*"About Books, More or Less: In the Matter of Jazz," The New York Times, February 18, 1922

*"About Ragtime," Ragtime Review. August 1916

Adorno, Theodore. "On Jazz" and "Farewell to Jazz" in Essays in Music. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002, pp. 470-495, 496-500

*Aldrich, Robert. "Drawing a Line for Jazz," New York Times, December 10, 1922 (Reprinted in Koenig 2002)

The Struggle and the Triumph of Latin Jazz (I)

Bobby Sanabria

Latin jazz artist and educator Bobby Sanabria and Columbia Professor of Music Chris Washburne discuss the recent elimination of the Latin jazz Category in the Grammy Awards. Surveying a broad panorama of the struggles and many triumphs of Latin jazz through the last century, they consider the implications of the Grammy Award decision for the future of this vibrant and interculturally expressive music.

Click here for Part II.

Historiography of Early Jazz

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Yale University

Spring 2003

This seminar will undertake critical reading of the earliest commentaries on jazz (including the writings of musicians, literary critics, educators, the popular press, and artists (especially the Futurists, Surrealists, and Dadaists), and of the first attempts at jazz history. Discussion will include the dates and characteristics of the earliest jazz, the role of race in jazz commentary, and the place of jazz in twentieth century discourse. Recordings and films will supplement the readings.

REQUIRED READINGS:

The Nineteenth-Century Origins of Jazz

Black Music Research Journal

Gushee asks whether New Orleans deserves its central place in the story of jazz' origins. He argues that, although ragtime was being "faked" throughout the country by the beginning of the 20th century, it was New Orleans' version that had the most influence on Chicago jazz and early swing that followed in the 1920s. Drawing on a thorough and imaginative command of primary sources, Gushee focuses on New Orleans musicians' distinctive manner of accompanying contemporary dance music to make his point.

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