Jazz The American Theme Song

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James Lincoln Collier
Oxford University Press, 1993
Paperback. 336pp
£13.99

Praised by the Washington Post as a "tough, unblinkered critic," James Lincoln Collier is probably the most controversial writer on jazz today. With the publication of Jazz: The American Theme Song, Collier does nothing to soften his reputation for hard-hitting, incisive commentary. Questioning everything we think we know about jazz - its origins, its innovative geniuses, the importance of improvisation and spontaneous inspiration in a performance - and the jazz world, these ten provocative essays on the music and its place in American culture overturn tired assumptions and will alternately enrage, enlighten, and entertain.

Jazz: The American Theme Song offers music lovers razor-sharp analysis of musical trends and styles, and fearless explorations of the most potentially explosive issues in jazz today. Collier argues, for example, that although jazz was originally devised by African Americans from black folk music, jazz has long been a part of the cultural heritage of musicians and audiences of all races and classes, and is not black music per se. Impeccably researched and informed by Collier's wide-ranging intellect, Jazz: The American Theme Song is an important look at Jazz's past, its present, and its uncertain future. It is a book everyone who cares about the music will want to read.

JAMES LINCOLN COLLIER is the author of over fifty books including acclaimed biographies of Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Benny Goodman.

"A lively book…Collier writes knowledgeably about jazz culture and practice." - The Washington Post Book World

This book was a 1993 New York Times Notable Book of the Year.

CONTENTS: The Inevitability of Jazz in America; The Rise of Individualism & the Jazz Solo; Going It Alone; Hot Rhythm; The Embrace of Show Business; Art & the Academy; Jazz & Pop; Black, White & Blue; the Critics; Local Jazz.

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