Recommending Texts for a course on the History of Jazz

[JSngry]

Gushee is deeply immersed in the music. No problem.

But - Baby Dodds talking for less than 15 minutes gets me deeper/closer to the "it" of it than any of that.

A book like Gushee's is excellent at corralling the horses of reality. With Baby Dodds talking like that, you're on one of those horses.

Know the horse, build a better corral.

Or maybe better yet, just keep riding!

[Dave Garrett]

When I was in a jazz survey class as an undergrad thirty years ago, we were assigned Marshall Stearns' The Story of Jazz (as well as Blues People). At the time, Stearns' book was itself thirty years old. Given when it was published, quite a bit of the book is devoted to the prehistory and early history of jazz. 

Edited October 10, 2016 by Dave Garrett

[Big Beat Steve]

5 hours ago, Dave Garrett said:

When I was in a jazz survey class as an undergrad thirty years ago, we were assigned Marshall Stearns' The Story of Jazz (as well as Blues People). At the time, Stearns' book was itself thirty years old. Given when it was published, quite a bit of the book is devoted to the prehistory and early history of jazz. 

During my university years in the early 80s Stearns' book was about the only book on jazz in the "Americana" section (intended for research on cultural history etc. of the U.S.) in the library of this (small) university. That book certainly got around.

[alankin]

On 10/9/2016 at 8:32 PM, Larry Kart said:

Sorry -- I didn't understand. In that case, this one is close to a must, a remarkable, enlightening, and highly readable piece of scholarship:

https://www.amazon.com/Pioneers-Jazz-Story-Creole-Band/dp/0199732337/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1475977837&sr=1-3&keywords=lawrence+Gushee

It's too bad that they didn't record.  

[Larry Kart]

On 10/8/2016 at 0:16 PM, Big Beat Steve said:

My copy (Amazon too) wasn't that expensive. Did I hit a scoop?

 

But if I understood Face corectly he was asking specifically for recommendations about "early jazz" (which I loosely interpret as Pre-hard bop). This would be some 60-80 pages out of your 300-something, isn't it? Which does not invalidate your book one bit, or course, but may just explain why it was off the radar in previous recommendations.

Probably you jumped in at the right time. I myself bought a good number of remaindered copies at one time at a very decent price per book so I could have some to give away to people when I felt like it -- as I did fairly often; I have only four left. Those you'll have to pry from my dead hand.

[JSngry]

When Larry's an outlaw, only Larry will have books.

[Joe]

For added context:

https://www.amazon.com/Jazz-City-Impact-Cities-Development/dp/0135093724