This book is a study of a crucial period in the life of American
jazz and popular music. "Pearl Harbor Jazz" analyses the changes in
the world of the professional musician brought about both by the
outbreak of World War II and by long-term changes in the music
business, in popular taste and in American society itself. It
describes how the infrastructure of American music, the
interdependent fields of recording, touring, live engagements,
radio and the movies, was experiencing change in the conditions of
wartime, and how this impacted upon musical styles, and hence upon
the later history of popular music. Successive chapters of the book
examine the impact of these changed conditions upon the songwriting
and music publishing industries, upon the world of the touring big
bands, and upon changing conceptions of the role of jazz and
popular music.
Not only the economic conditions but also ideas were changing;
the book traces a movement among writers and critics which created
new definitions of 'jazz' and other terms that had a permanent
influence on the way musical styles were thought of for the rest of
the century. The book deals in some depth with the work of a number
of important artists in these various fields, including, Duke
Ellington, Charlie Parker, Johnny Mercer and Frank Sinatra, looks
at the growing presence of bebop, the rise of country music, and
the contemporary musical scenes in such locations as New York and
Los Angeles. The book combines detail of the day to day working
lives of musicians with challenging views of the long-term
development of musical style in jazz and popular music.
Peter Townsend lectures at Manchester Metropolitan University
and in the School of Music at the University of Huddersfield,
England
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