Drawing from contemporary journalism; reviews; program notes; memoirs; interviews; and other sources; Keeping Time lets you experience; first hand; the controversies and critical issues that have accompanied jazz from its very birth. Edited by Robert Walser; these sixty-two thought provoking pieces offer a wealth of insight into jazz. Some of the giants of jazz speak to us here; including Jelly Roll Morton; Billie Holiday; Charles Mingus and Wynton Marsalis. And there are pieces by writers such as Langston Hughes; Norman Mailer; and Ralph Ellison; and by critics such as Leonard Feather and Gunther Schuller. Readers will find Louis Armstrong on what makes swing; Dizzy Gillespie on bebop; and Miles Davis on jazz-rock fusion. Equally important; Walser has selected writings that capture the passionate reactions of people who have loved; hated; supported; and argued about jazz. One can read; for instance; a dismissive article written in 1918 that relegates jazz to the "servants hall of music" along with "the clatter of the clogs; the click of Slavic heels." Or a debate between Wynton Marsalis and Herbie Hancock over the merits of free jazz and electric instruments. Or Duke Ellingtons claim that jazz is neither highbrow nor lowbrow; but "goes back to something just about as old--and as natural--as the circulation of the blood." In the end; the focus here remains on how the music works and why people have cared about it. Filled with passionately felt; insightful writing; Keeping Time will increase ones historical awareness of jazz even as it provokes lively discussion among jazz aficionados; whether in clubs; concert halls or classrooms.
#2283096 in eBooks 2010-07-15 2010-07-15File Name: B004DCBBY0
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