Ain't But a Few of Us
Black Music Writers Tell Their Story
1st Edition
Published on 28. October 2022
328 pages
978-1-4780-2366-1 (ISBN)
Description
Ain't But a Few of Us presents over two dozen candid dialogues with Black jazz critics and journalists who discuss the barriers to access for Black jazz critics and how they contend with the world of jazz writing dominated by white men.
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Book
12/2022
Duke University Press
€26.50
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Person
Willard Jenkins is the Artistic Director of the DC Jazz Festival as well as an arts consultant, producer, educator, and print and broadcast journalist. His writing has been featured in JazzTimes, Downbeat, Jazz Forum, Jazzwise, and many other publications. He is the coauthor of African Rhythms: The Autobiography of Randy Weston, also published by Duke University Press. He is the writer of the multipart Billie Holiday documentary podcast No Regrets.
Content
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction / Willard Jenkins 1
1. Roundtable / Eric Arnold, Jordannah Elizabeth, Bill Francis, Steve Monroe, Rahsaan Clark Morris, Robin Washington, and K. Leander Williams 15
2. The Authors / Playthell Benjamin, Herb Boyd, Karen Chilton, Farah Jasmine Griffin, Robin D. G. Kelley, Tammy Kernodle, Guthrie P. Ramsey Jr., Gene Seymour, A. B. Spellman, and Greg Tate 27
3. Black Jazz Magazine Editors and Publishers / Jo Ann Cheatham (Pure Jazz), Jim Harrison (Jazz Spotlite News), Haybert Houston (Jazz Now), and Ron Welburn (The Grackle) 89
4. Black Dispatch Contributors / Robin James and Ron Scott 111
5. Magazine Freelancers / Bill Brower, Janine Coveney, Lofton Emenari III, Eugene Holley Jr., John Murph, Don Palmer, and Ron Wynn 125
6. Newspaper Writers and Columnists / Martin Johnson, Greg Thomas, and Hollie West 167
7. The New Breed (Online) / Bridget Arnwine, Angelika Beener, and Anthony Dean-Harris 189
8. Anthology 209
Classics
"Jazz and the White Critic," LeRoi Jones (DownBeat, 1963) 209
"Requiem for a Heavyweight," Marc Crawford (Transition, 1966) 216
"Inside the Horace Silver Quintet," Barbara Gardner (DownBeat, 1963) 220
"Trane + 7 = a Wild Night at the Gate," A. B. Spellman (DownBeat, 1965) 226
"The Testimony: An Interview with Alto Saxophonist Bunky Green," Bill Quinn (DownBeat, 1966) 229
On Jazz and Race
"Putting the White Man in Charge," Stanley Crouch (JazzTimes, 2003) 236
"My Bill Evans Problem-Jaded Visions of Jazz and Race," Eugene Holley Jr. (New Music Box, 2013) 238
"Where's the Black Audience?", Ron Wynn (JazzTimes, 2013) 243
"Whither the Black Voices," Anthony Dean-Harris (Nextbop, 2013) 249
"Brooklyn's Jazz Renaissance," Robin D. G. Kelley (ISAM Newsletter, 2004) 251
Additional Ain't But a Few of Us Contributors
"Wynton Is the Greatest!," Playthell Benjamin (Commentaries on the Times, 2016) 255
"Jazz Is. Free. ?," Ron Welburn (The Grackle, 1976) 259
"Why Jazz Will Always Be Relevant," Greg Tate (The Fader, 2016) 264
"Rhapsody in Rainbow: Jazz and the Queer Aesthetic," John Murph (JazzTimes, 2010) 268
Black Musician Writers
"Billy Taylor Replies to Art Tatum Critics," Billy Taylor (DownBeat, 1955) 274
"Creativity and Change," Wayne Shorter (DownBeat, 1968) 276
"An Artist Speaks Bluntly," Archie Shepp (DownBeat, 1965) 286
"The Jazz Pianist-Purist," Herbie Nichols (Rhythm, 1946) 288
"Smack! Memories of Fletcher Henderson," Rex Stewart (DownBeat, 1965) 290
Index 299
Introduction / Willard Jenkins 1
1. Roundtable / Eric Arnold, Jordannah Elizabeth, Bill Francis, Steve Monroe, Rahsaan Clark Morris, Robin Washington, and K. Leander Williams 15
2. The Authors / Playthell Benjamin, Herb Boyd, Karen Chilton, Farah Jasmine Griffin, Robin D. G. Kelley, Tammy Kernodle, Guthrie P. Ramsey Jr., Gene Seymour, A. B. Spellman, and Greg Tate 27
3. Black Jazz Magazine Editors and Publishers / Jo Ann Cheatham (Pure Jazz), Jim Harrison (Jazz Spotlite News), Haybert Houston (Jazz Now), and Ron Welburn (The Grackle) 89
4. Black Dispatch Contributors / Robin James and Ron Scott 111
5. Magazine Freelancers / Bill Brower, Janine Coveney, Lofton Emenari III, Eugene Holley Jr., John Murph, Don Palmer, and Ron Wynn 125
6. Newspaper Writers and Columnists / Martin Johnson, Greg Thomas, and Hollie West 167
7. The New Breed (Online) / Bridget Arnwine, Angelika Beener, and Anthony Dean-Harris 189
8. Anthology 209
Classics
"Jazz and the White Critic," LeRoi Jones (DownBeat, 1963) 209
"Requiem for a Heavyweight," Marc Crawford (Transition, 1966) 216
"Inside the Horace Silver Quintet," Barbara Gardner (DownBeat, 1963) 220
"Trane + 7 = a Wild Night at the Gate," A. B. Spellman (DownBeat, 1965) 226
"The Testimony: An Interview with Alto Saxophonist Bunky Green," Bill Quinn (DownBeat, 1966) 229
On Jazz and Race
"Putting the White Man in Charge," Stanley Crouch (JazzTimes, 2003) 236
"My Bill Evans Problem-Jaded Visions of Jazz and Race," Eugene Holley Jr. (New Music Box, 2013) 238
"Where's the Black Audience?", Ron Wynn (JazzTimes, 2013) 243
"Whither the Black Voices," Anthony Dean-Harris (Nextbop, 2013) 249
"Brooklyn's Jazz Renaissance," Robin D. G. Kelley (ISAM Newsletter, 2004) 251
Additional Ain't But a Few of Us Contributors
"Wynton Is the Greatest!," Playthell Benjamin (Commentaries on the Times, 2016) 255
"Jazz Is. Free. ?," Ron Welburn (The Grackle, 1976) 259
"Why Jazz Will Always Be Relevant," Greg Tate (The Fader, 2016) 264
"Rhapsody in Rainbow: Jazz and the Queer Aesthetic," John Murph (JazzTimes, 2010) 268
Black Musician Writers
"Billy Taylor Replies to Art Tatum Critics," Billy Taylor (DownBeat, 1955) 274
"Creativity and Change," Wayne Shorter (DownBeat, 1968) 276
"An Artist Speaks Bluntly," Archie Shepp (DownBeat, 1965) 286
"The Jazz Pianist-Purist," Herbie Nichols (Rhythm, 1946) 288
"Smack! Memories of Fletcher Henderson," Rex Stewart (DownBeat, 1965) 290
Index 299
