Point From Which Creation Begins:

[relyles]

Recently I have been reading this book by Benamin Looker about St. Louis Black Artists' Group (BAG). My initial interest in the book was an opportunity to learn more about the group that spawned musicians such as Julius Hemphill, Oliver Lake and Baikida Carroll. I am about half way through the book now. Its not entirely what I expected, but that is not intended as a critisicm. I expected the emphasis of the book to be on the musicians in BAG and the music they created. I was under the misunderstanding that BAG was primarily about musicians. What I have learned, however, was that BAG was a multidisciplinary group that included all the arts (music, theater, visual arts, literature) and BAG was very much about incorporating all the arts into its productions.

Also, instead of being a book featuring detailed analysis of the music or any of the other arts, what the book seems to really be about is a description of the social, political and economic forces that existed in St. Louis and the nation at the time, how these forces necessitated the creation of BAG, and how BAG dealt with these issues.

The author (who apparently graduated from college in 2000) obviously did not "live" the events/times discussed, but he seems to have done a decent amount of research. Among the musicians listed as being interviewed are Baikida Carroll, Joseph Bowie, Marty Ehrlich and Greg Osby. I also see that our own Chuck Nessa was interviewed.

So far it is an interesting read, but I am curious whether others have read the book and have formed any impressions?

Edited February 9, 2005 by relyles

[ghost of miles]

I haven't read it--hadn't heard of it till your post, but it sounds really, really interesting (particularly for someone like me who has a fetish for reading about Midwestern jazz scenes). I'll try to run down a copy.

[relyles]

Its available at both Amazon and Barnesandnoble.com.

[Rooster_Ties]

Here's another thread with some info and discussion about BAG. Quite a few links to some articles in the thread, but many of them don't seem to work any more (the one's at Allmusic and AAJ, anyway).

Perhaps the information is still available, and it's just moved somewhere else within each respective site.

I'd be very curious to hear more about BAG, especially since I great up in St. Louis. Might have to check this book out.

[Alexander Hawkins]

Any more readers since a couple of years ago? I finished this book this morning. I might try to write a full review if I have the chance - I think it's a great piece of work, and completely fascinating.

[AllenLowe]

I'd be interested in reading it, given how few jazz books I find these days that manage to deal with social issues without an academic dryness - years ago Julius Hemphill came up to New Haven for a seminar I was conducting and did a bit of talking about BAG, but I regret that, though it was recorded, I've lost the tape and never made a transcript - Julius was not real talkative, anyway, and I don't think there was anything revelatory in what he said, but that was clearly a fascinating scene -

Edited February 6, 2007 by AllenLowe

[Alexander Hawkins]

It's interesting...it clearly had its birth as an academic piece, but is readable (especially the second half) nonetheless. Doubtless some of this is due to references being endnotes (hence the script not being constantly interrupted with Harvard cites)...

He comes across as passionate about the subject, and extremely thorough (it's a shame that he came along too late to interview Hemphill, however, and that Lake presumably turned him down for an interview). This thoroughness has a few unfortunate consequences for readability - there are several pages which are pretty heavy going if only for being so heavily laced with acronyms of various community groups etc.

Some of it depends on what you expect from a 'jazz book', as well. It is very much a sociological piece, which IMHO any history such as this has to be. It is short on musicology, but doesn't present itself as musicological - and it does provide the vital context which any realistic musicology must have. Looker is also dutiful in not ignoring the theatrical/visual art elements of the collective, whilst acknowledging that music remained its dominant strain.

If you think it's a fascinating scene (and who's going to disagree), I wouldn't imagine you regretting the read!

[Alexander Hawkins]

Here's another thread with some info and discussion about BAG. Quite a few links to some articles in the thread, but many of them don't seem to work any more (the one's at Allmusic and AAJ, anyway).

Perhaps the information is still available, and it's just moved somewhere else within each respective site.

I'd be very curious to hear more about BAG, especially since I great up in St. Louis. Might have to check this book out.

Rooster - FWIW, the author of those AAJ articles is also the author of the book!

[AllenLowe]

does he deal at all with the black music scene in East St. Louis? (I just ordered the book) -

[Alexander Hawkins]

A little - it explains how the funding bodies broke down with AIR north of the river, and BAG south. The focus is BAG, but he makes it clear that the two organisations did 'get along', by and large, and were often thought of as one and the same etc.