In this provocative, controversial, and disturbing book, Eric Nisenson declares that jazz, once a thriving body of innovative and fluid music, is being killed. Corruption by marketers, appropriation by the mainstream, superficial media portrayal, and sheer lack of skill have all contributed to the demise of this venerable art form. Nisenson argues that the entire jazz "industry" is controlled by a select cadre that has a chokehold on the most vital components of the music. As the listening culture has changed, have spontaneity and improvisation been sacrificed? Can contemporary jazz recover its vitality or has the seemingly eternal inspiration of jazz evaporated?

CONTENTS:
The Case For Murder;
Young Man's Blues: Racism & Ageism in Jazz;
The Jazz Age Revolution;
Genius: The Triumph & Tragedy of Louis Armstrong;
Deja Vu All Over Again;
Swing & Its Discontents;
Jazz Redefined: The Bop Revolution;
The 1950s, Part One: Out of the Cool;
The 1950s, Part Two: Into the Hot;
Free At Last;
Dancing In Your Head;
The Virtual Jazz Age;
Lighting out For The Territory.

ERIC NISENSON is the author of Open Sky: Sonny Rollins's World of Improvisation, Ascension: John Coltrane and His Quest and Round About Midnight: A Portrait of Miles Davis.

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