Writing Jazz

Literary Nonfiction. Music. African American Studies. A companion volume to the critically acclaimed READING JAZZ, WRITING JAZZ is the first comprehensive historical anthology of writings on jazz by African-American musicians, critics, writers, and poets. Arranged chronologically, with equal attention paid both to criticism and lyrical art, this collection encompasses voices from the Spirituals and the Blues to Free Jazz and the Black Arts Movement. It includes selections from Louis Armstrong, Amiri Baraka, Sidney Bechet, Miles Davis, Ralph Ellison, Dizzie Gillespie, Nikki Giovanni, Billie Holiday, Son House, Langston Hughes, Furry Lewis, Albert Murray, Ishmael Reed, Sonia Sanchez, Willie The Lion Smith, Wole Soyinka, Ethel Waters, Booker White, Richard Wright, and others.Editor David Meltzer adds his own breadth of knowledge on jazz to the brew with his Pre-text introduction and afterthought Sub-text discussion. Challenging and no doubt controversial, WRITING JAZZ, like its companion, is a valuable historical sourcebook and a provocative read.