Blowin' the Blues Away: Performance and Meaning on the New York Jazz Scene (Music of the African Diaspora Book 16)

New York City Has Always Been A Mecca In The History Of Jazz, And In Many Ways The City's Jazz Scene Is More Important Now Than Ever Before. Blowin' The Blues Away Examines How Jazz Has Thrived In New York Following Its Popular Resurgence In The 1980s. Using Interviews, In-person Observation, And Analysis Of Live And Recorded Events, Ethnomusicologist Travis A. Jackson Explores Both The Ways In Which Various Participants In The New York City Jazz Scene Interpret And Evaluate Performance, And The Criteria On Which Those Interpretations And Evaluations Are Based. Through The Notes And Words Of Its Most Accomplished Performers And Most Ardent Fans, Jazz Appears Not Simply As A Musical Style, But As A Cultural Form Intimately Influenced By And Influential Upon American Concepts Of Race, Place, And Spirituality.--back Cover Of Book. Cover; Blowin' The Blues Away; Music Of The African Diaspora; Title; Copyright; Dedication; Contents; List Of Illustrations; Acknowledgments; Part One. Black, Brown And Beige; 1. Studying Jazz; 2. History And Memory, Pathways And Practices: The African Americanness Of Jazz; Part Two. Scenes In The City; 3. Jazz And Spatiality: The Development Of Jazz Scenes; 4. The New York Jazz Scene In The 1990s; Part Three. Blowin' The Blues Away; 5. Toward A Blues Aesthetic; 6. Jazz Performance As Ritualized Activity; 7. In The Studio And On Stage; 8. Conclusion; Glossary. Appendix: Excerpt From An Interview With Steve Wilsonnotes; References; Index. Travis A. Jackson. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. New York City has always been a mecca in the history of jazz, and in many ways the city’s jazz scene is more important now than ever before. Blowin’ the Blues Away examines how jazz has thrived in New York following its popular resurgence in the 1980s. Using interviews, in-person observation, and analysis of live and recorded events, ethnomusicologist Travis A. Jackson explores both the ways in which various participants in the New York City jazz scene interpret and evaluate performance, and the criteria on which those interpretations and evaluations are based. Through the notes and words of its most accomplished performers and most ardent fans, jazz appears not simply as a musical style, but as a cultural form intimately influenced by and influential upon American concepts of race, place, and spirituality. Frontmatter List of Illustrations (page xi) Acknowledgments (page xiii) PART ONE. BLACK, BROWN AND BEIGE 1. Studying Jazz (page 3) 2. History and Memory, Pathways and Practices: The African Americanness of Jazz (page 24) PART TWO. SCENES IN THE CITY 3. Jazz and Spatiality: The Development of Jazz Scenes (page 51) 4. The New York Jazz Scene in the 1990s (page 70) PART THREE. BLOWIN' THE BLUES AWAY 5. Toward a Blues Aesthetic (page 109) 6. Jazz Performance as Ritualized Activity (page 136) 7. In the Studio and on Stage (page 155) 8. Conclusion (page 205) Glossary (page 217) Appendix: Excerpt from an Interview with Steve Wilson (page 223) Notes (page 231) References (page 263) Index (page 289) New York City has always been a mecca in the history of jazz and in many ways the city's jazz scene is more important now than ever before. This book examines how jazz has thrived in New York following its popular resurgence in the 1980s