Cats Of Any Color - Jazz, Black And White (Paperback, New Ed)

Another sterling collection of essays by one of our best jazz critics, drawn from his superb newsletter, Jazzletter. Lees (Waiting for Dizzy, 1991, etc.) is back with more of the elegant writing and insightful thought that has made him such a highly praised music critic. Tying this collection together are some sharp observations - both by Lees and by the musicians he profiles - about the ethnic and racial roots of jazz and the ways in which they reflect the tensions that afflict American society. In the opening essay, he writes movingly about growing up in Canada as a young jazz buff and about his encounters with racism both as an adolescent and as a young journalist. Elsewhere in the book, he offers profiles of Dave Brubeck, who is part Native American; musicologist Dominique de Lerma, who discourses on the multiplicity of cultures that have fed into jazz music; bassist Red Mitchell, who offers some mordant comments on the decay of American democracy; singer Ernie Andrews, who talks about the effects of racism in Los Angeles both in the '40s and today. Finally, in one of the longest pieces in any of his collections, he takes on the anti-white bias of many black musicians and writers, and fires a convincing broadside at the monumental and hollow edifice that is trumpeter and composer Wynton Marsalis. This last piece is not calculated to endear him to anyone of a black nationalist bent, nor will its equally fiery attacks on white racism win him any friends among neoconservatives. But Lees has long been one of those handful of social and arts critics who say what needs to be said. Essential reading for any serious jazz fan or student of American culture. (Kirkus Reviews)

In candid interviews, jazz players, composers and critics share their thoughts on how racism has affected their lives. Gene Lees points out that many jazz musicians have been at least in part Native Americans, but the Indian contribution has never been acknowledged. Dave Brubeck, who himself has Indian ancestors, describes how racism long made it all but impossible for jazz groups composed of white and black players to book tours. And Horace Silver recalls listening as a boy to the black Jimme Lunceford band through the wooden slats of a Connecticut pavilion to which blacks were not admitted - except as performers.

General

Imprint:	Da Capo Press Inc
Country of origin:	United States
Release date:	February 2001
First published:	February 2001
Authors:	Gene Lees
Dimensions:	128 x 202 x 16mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback - Trade
Pages:	264
Edition:	New Ed
ISBN-13:	978-0-306-80950-7
Categories:	Books > Arts & Architecture > Performing arts > Individual actors & performers Books > Arts & Architecture > Music > Contemporary popular music > Jazz Books > Reference & Interdisciplinary > Interdisciplinary studies > Cultural studies > General Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Ethnic studies > General Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Social issues > Equal opportunities Books > Music > Contemporary popular music > Jazz
LSN:	0-306-80950-8
Barcode:	9780306809507

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