Is Jazz Dead? Or Has It Moved to a New Address

? A comprehensive history of how jazz has developed and where it's going ? Takes on the jazz establishment ? Highlights exciting new artists around the world who are combining jazz with local musics, electronics, and other new techniques Is Jazz Dead? examines the state of jazz in America at the turn of the 21st century. In a recent 10-part documentary on Public Television, Ken Burns spent 8 out of 10 programs on jazz before World War II; only the last 2 shows covered five decades of creative work. Musicians themselves are returning to New Orleans, Swing, and Bebop styles, while the work of the '60s avant-garde and even '70s and '80s jazz-rock is roundly ignored.

Is Jazz Dead? examines the state of jazz in America at the turn of thetwenty-first century.Musicians themselves are returning to New Orleans, Swing, and Bebop styles, while the work of the '60s avant-garde and even '70s and '80s jazz-rock is roundly ignored. Meanwhile, global jazz musicians are creating new and exciting music that is just starting to be heard in the United States, offering a viable alternative to the rampant conservatism here. Stuart Nicholson's thought-provoking book offers an analysis of the American scene, how it came to be so stagnant, and what it can do to create a new level of creativity. This book is bound to be controversial among jazz purists and musicians; it will undoubtedly generate discussion about how jazz should grow now that it has become a recognized part of American musical history. Is Jazz Dead? dares to ask the question on all jazz fan's minds: Can jazz survive as a living medium? And, if so, how?

Introduction 1 Where Do We Go From Here? The Jazz Mainstream 1990-2000 2 Between Image and Artistry: The Wynton Marsalis Phenomenon 3 Prophets Looking Backwards: Jazz at Lincoln Center 4 Déjà Vu All Over Again: Jazz Singers and Nu-Crooners 5 Jazz Education: Teachers Teaching Teachers 6 Altered Realities and Fresh Possibilities 7 Out of Sight and Out of Mind: Jazz In The Global Village 8 Celebrating the Glocal: The Nordic Tone in Jazz 9 Marketplace or Subsidy: A Question of Survival

Stuart Nicholson is an award-winning author of several best-selling books on jazz, including Reminiscing in Tempo: A Portrait of Duke Ellington , Jazz-Rock: A History , Billie Holiday: A Biography , and Ella Fitzgerald: A Biography . He writes regularly for leading US and European newspapers and jazz journals. He lives in England.