Description
Book SynopsisTrade Review“A highly engaging, thoroughly researched book.” * All About Jazz *
“’Why Jazz Happened' Makes Its Points Like a Snazzy Lawyer in the Courtroom: Zip, Zam, Zot. . . . Students and fans of jazz will come away enlightened about a huge part of the jazz story that has been mostly untold, before this otherwise intelligent and well-reported book was published.” -- Will Layman * Popmatters.com *
“A needed historical overview. . . . Myers presents his argument of ‘why jazz happened’ in a concise, powerfully convincing style. . . . Highly recommended.” -- G. A. Akkerman, University of South Carolina Upstate * Choice *
“Myers has managed to come up with a fresh take on the [history of jazz's evolution].” -- Willard Manus * LivelyArts.com *
"Excellent new jazz history. . . . A refreshingly concrete volume on a genre that stubbornly, sometimes proudly, refuses to be defined." * The New York City Jazz Record *
"Why Jazz Happened contains a treasure trove of insider information . . . a valuable addition to readings in jazz history." -- Mark C. Gridley * Notes *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
Introduction
1. Record Giants Blink
2. DJs, Promoters, and Bebop
3. G.I. Bill and Cool
4. Speed War, Tape, and Solos
5. Suburbia and West Coast Jazz
6. BMI, R&B, and Hard Bop
7. Bias, Africa, and Spiritual Jazz
8. Invasion and Jazz-Pop
9. Alienation and the Avant-Garde
1. Lights, Volume, and Fusion
11. Jazz Hangs On
Notes
Index
