The Jazz Revolution: Twenties America and the Meaning of Jazz

In this illuminating work, Kathy Ogren places jazz - a controversial form at its inception - in the social and cultural context of 1920s America and sheds new light on its impact on the nation. She traces its dissemination from the honky-tonks of New Orleans, New York, and Chicago, to the clubs and cabarets of such places as Kansas City and Los Angeles, and further to the airwaves. Ogren argues that certain characteristics of jazz, notably the participatory nature of the music, its unusual ...