“The Roaring Twenties began with Prohibition and ended with the stock market crash. In the years between, New York experienced an unparalleled revolution in ways of life, language, and music.”
For jazz, the epicenter of the revolution was Harlem.
Created by German illustrator Robert Nippoldt with text by Hans-Jürgen Schaal, Jazz: New York in the Roaring Twenties is a beautifully produced over-sized, cloth-bound walk through the history of Harlem and its transformation from a peaceful village on the outskirts of New York City into “America’s black Paris.” Woven through 144 pages of ogle-worthy, award-winning design, we experience a Harlem alive with inspiration, invention, and unparalleled talent. We meet its key players through 24 extraordinary biographies of Harlem’s jazz luminaries, and learn how the limits of the early recording process shaped the sound of the first jazz records ever pressed; why Louis Armstrong had to record without tuba or percussion in 1925; and why clarinetist Prince Robinson’s legs had to be bound together before he could begin a studio session. We’re introduced to each of the twenty recordings included on an accompanying CD –including the first commercially released jazz recording ever made, 1917’s Livery Stable Blues – by way of histories and narratives connecting the dots between these pivotal pieces and their place in the annals of jazz. The book even maps historic Harlem’s nightclub, theater, and dance hall scene.
Jazz: New York in the Roaring Twenties celebrates time and place without ever sugarcoating the often harsh realities and egregious adversities faced by the legendary community of artists who created a uniquely American genre of music. It’s an adventure in art, words, and sound that successfully manages to blur the line between a ‘Jazz for Dummies’ treatment and a collection for the seasoned aficionado.
Jazz: New York in the Roaring Twenties
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