Description
Book SynopsisThe New York loft jazz scene of the 1970s was a pivotal period for uncompromising, artist-produced work. Faced with a flagging jazz economy, a group of young avant-garde improvisers chose to eschew the commercial sphere and develop alternative venues in the abandoned factories and warehouses of Lower Manhattan. This is a study of this period.
Trade Review"[Heller] paints a kaleidoscopic portrait... inherently fascinating." The Wire "Heller - through dozens of interviews and painstaking research that included full access to the ample personal archive of percussionist Juma Sultan, a pivotal figure in the movement - refreshingly moves beyond reductionist notions." Village Voice "Using interviews and archival research, Michael G. Heller examines the scene's rise and eventual fall from historical, pedagogical and sociological perspectives... [He] itemizes what differentiated Loft Jazz from other styles and how its creation, dissemination and demise affected innovative jazz." The New York City Jazz Record
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations and Table
1. Fragmented Memories and Activist Archives
PART ONE: HISTORIES
2. Influences, Antecedents, Early Engagements
3. The Jazz Loft Era
PART TWO: TRAJECTORIES
4. Freedom
5. Community
6. Space
7. Archive
8. Aftermaths and Legacies
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index
