This book presents a unique sociological vision of the evolution of jazz in the twentieth century. Analysing organisational structures and competing discourses in American music, Paul Lopes shows how musicians and others transformed the meaning and practice of jazz. Set against the distinct worlds of high art and popular art in America, the rise of a jazz art world is shown to be a unique movement - a socially diverse community struggling in various ways against cultural orthodoxy. Cultural politics in America is shown to be a dynamic, open, and often contradictory process of constant re-interpretation. This work is a compelling social history of American culture that incorporates various voices in jazz, including musicians, critics, collectors, producers, and enthusiasts. Accessibly written and interdisciplinary in approach, it will be of great interest to scholars and students of sociology, cultural studies, social history, American studies, African-American studies, and jazz studies.

PAUL LOPES is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Tufts University, Massachusetts. He was Director of the Communications and Media Studies Program at Tufts from 1994 to 2001.

"The field of jazz writing demands a shot in the arm. Paul Lopes' The Rise of a Jazz Art World does just that. Not just another routine study of jazz as popular music or cultural creation, it astutely demonstrates how and why jazz is a sociologically complicated cultural site. We see how jazz actually emerges, how it takes shape and how it is transformed by historical factors, media, and commercial and technical changes and American racial formation. It is an important and innovative book, vital and engaging." - JOHN D. CRUZ, Professor of Sociology & Cultural Studies, University of California

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