In Chicago Jazz, William Howland Kenney offers a wide-ranging look at jazz in the Windy City, revealing how Chicago became the major centre of jazz in the 1920s, one of the most vital periods in the history of the music. Kenney vividly describes the entire period from the migration of southern blacks to Chicago during and after World War I (which set the stage for the development of jazz in Chicago), through the evolution of white jazz, to the nightclubs and cabarets that catered to both black and white customers, providing the social setting for jazz performances.

Focusing on all the Chicago greats such as King Oliver, Louis Armstrong and Wild Bill Davison, this is a new interpretation of Chicago jazz which brings to life the hustle and bustle of the sounds and styles of musical entertainment in the famous toddlin' town.

CONTENTS:
South Side Jazz: Cultural Context
The Evolution of South Side Jazz
White Jazz and Dance Halls
White Chicago Jazz: Cultural Context
Chicago's Jazz Records
"Syncopated Threnody": the End of Chicago's Jazz Age

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