A Life in Jazz (Louisiana Artists Biography Series)

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Description

Danny Barker (1909-1994) used to be born when jazz used to be still in its infancy, and by the point of his death he used to be referred to as both a master of the idiom and a guardian of its history. Storyteller, researcher, songwriter, performer, and mentor, Barker used to be a true griot – an elder statesman of jazz and an international representative of New Orleans and African American culture. In more than 60 years as a working musician, he followed the evolution of jazz from its New Orleans roots to mainstream success right through the swing era to canonization as The united states’s first wholly original art form. In his career as a songwriter, which yielded the hit ‘Do not You Feel My Leg’, Barker combined traditional song forms with sly humor about sex and human nature. More than some other jazz artist, he worked to document the music s history and to tell the stories of its people. A Life in Jazz, first published in 1986 and edited by British jazz scholar Alyn Shipton, captures the breadth of Barker’s knowledge and the scope of his vision as a storyteller. His carefully crafted set pieces range from hilarious to harrowing, and he shares memories of jazz greats such as Jelly Roll Morton, Cab Calloway, and Dizzy Gillespie. Barker’s prose reflects the freedom and creativity of jazz whilst capturing the many injustices, both casual and grand, of life as a black man in midcentury The united states. This illustrated edition of A Life in Jazz brings Barker’s autobiography back into print, accompanied by more than 100 images that bring his story to life. Gwen Thompkins, host of public radio’s Music Inside Out, reflects on Barker’s legacy in her introduction, and all the discography and song catalog showcase the breadth of Barker’s work. Through his struggles, triumphs, escapades, and musings, A Life in Jazz reflects the freedom, complexity, and great thing about this thoroughly American, black music tradition.

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