Jazz Planet » (1st Edition)

The first book to detail the spread and evolution of jazz into cultures around the world

Library Journal

From the beginning, jazz has wrestled with two issues: first, how to reconcile the perceived need to legitimize the genre while clinging to the idea that it developed through some sort of mysterious primitivism, and, second, how to accept its development throughout the world almost from its birth in the United States, which seems to make historians uncomfortable (see Gary Giddins's Visions of Jazz: The First Century). For this excellent anthology, Atkins (history, Northern Illinois Univ.; Blue Nippon: Authenticating Jazz in Japan) commissioned an array of authors to tackle these issues head-on. The result is a bracing text that does, in fact, bring some resolution to these issues. For one thing, it appears that, despite what jazz historians and commentators have tried to argue, musicians haven't been too worried about legitimizing their art because they know that from its earliest incarnations its influence has been deeply felt throughout the cultural realm. Highly recommended for all music collections.-William G. Kenz, Minnesota State Univ. Lib., Moorhead Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.