Jazz in Print (1859-1929)

Book excerpt: This anthology was compiled to aid the scholar working on the origins and evolution of jazz. Covering materials published through 1929, it also begins with articles from 1856 which do not concern jazz directly, but will serve to present a solid foundation for understanding the American music scene from which jazz developed. Chronologically listed and well-indexed, the hundreds of articles comprise, in effect, a history of jazz as it evolved. Beginning with accounts of negro music in the pre-jazz era, continuing in an exploration of spirituals, followed by a description of ragtime, we finally learn about the development of jazz from its practitioners and informed audiences of the time.