For almost a century, writers such as Ralph Ellison, Michael Ondaatje and Ishmael Reed have expressed an affinity for jazz, hearing the music as a model for writing. Michael Jarrett examines their work and the work of others who have brought jazz into language, pushing "interpretation" into the realm of "invention."

CONTENTS:
Cadenza: Jazz As A Model For Writing
Satura: File (under) Gumbo
Obbligato: Required Listening
Rapsody: The Counterfeiters
Charivari: Conjugal Riffs.

MICHAEL JARRETT is Associate Professor of English at The Pennsylvania State University, York Campus. He is the author of Sound Tracks: A Musical ABC.

back to previous page