From "Hustlin' Blues" to "Strange Fruit"
African Musical Retentions
in the Evolution of Jazz Singing Style
circa 1920-1945
Dr. Ann G. P. Solberg and Elizabeth McQueary
Funded by the Appalachian College Association, Summer 1997
Annotations, A-G
Anderson, Jervis. Harlem: The Great Black Way 1900-1950. Washington, DC: New Republic Books, 1980. Discussing the development of Harlem, the black center of America, this book follows its birth in the "Forgotten Streets" to its diminution in "The Thrill is Gone." This book takes a historical look at black Harlem, its people, music, political power, and its undying belief in the black spirit. Although discussion towards specific musicians is limited, Harlem is helpful in gaining insight into the environment which created many of the blues and jazz musicians who heavily influenced the entire genre. Balliett, Whitney. American Singers: Twenty-Seven Portraits in Song. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988. Biographies on twenty-seven blues and jazz musicians, beginning in the early twenties and extending into the musical career of David Frishberg in the fifties and sixties. A wide variety of musicians are included; women such as Alberta Hunter, Nellie Lutcher, Anita Ellis, and Blossom Dearie, and men like Ray Charles, Cleo Brown, Mel Torme, and many others. Not confined to covering any particular race or sex, Whitney's book offers not only biographical information, but also includes a scholarly musical analysis of each major performer's style. I consider this an excellent source of information for the jazz researcher. Balliet, Whitney. Jelly Roll, Jabbo, and Fats: 19 Portraits in Jazz. New York: Oxford University Press, 1983. Giving extensive biographical information on various jazz men of the forties and fifties, this book would be a asset to the jazz researcher. However, information on women performers is nonexistant in this text. Berendt, Joachime. The Jazz Book: From Ragtime to Fusion and Beyond. New York: Lawrence Hill, 1992. "We want to give the reader an overview of the totality and unity of the development of jazz. (xiii)" Used in college and university classrooms all over the world, The Jazz Book covers in detail jazz music and musicians from ragtime to the present day. Beginning with "The Styles of Jazz", this source is organized by topic, covering both male and female, black and white artists. The sections that follow are, "The Musicians of Jazz", "The Elements of Jazz", "The Vocalists of Jazz", "The Big Bands of Jazz", and finally concludes with a chapter dedicated to exploring a definition of jazz. An extensive discography is included. This text is highly recommended as a valuable research tool. Bourgeois, Anna Stong. Blues Woman: Profiles of 37 Early Performers with an Anthology of Lyrics, 1920-1945. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., Inc., 1996. In the introduction, Bourgeois divides women's blues songs into specific categories based on theme. Common themes include: relationships, drugs and alcohol, illness and disease, superstition, work, and racism. This section elaborates on the reasons for these predominant themes and gives examples from jazz lyrics. Brief biographies, with reference to more information, begin each chapter and are proceeded by several lyric examples of that particular artist's songs. All of the musicians included in the book are female blues and jazz performers who made their debut between 1920 and 1945. A discography and bibliography are included. Charters, Samuel. The Blues Makers. New York: Da Capo Press, 1991. There was a handful of women who played and sang the blues throughout the south in the 1920's, but the masculine element in blues was so dominant that the term "bluesmen" is widely used. This book is about bluesmen like Blind Lemon Jefferson, Frank Stokes, Robert Johnson, and Henry Thomas. It traces these musicians and their music through the southern states of Mississippi, Alabama, Texas, Atlanta, and Tennessee. While being an excellent historical source, it lends itself primarily to male blues biographical research. Chilton, John Billie's Blues: Billie Holiday's Story 1933-1959. New York: Stein and Day, 1978. This book follows the life of Billie Holiday from her first recording to the time of her death. The first nine chapters cover the tragic, yet compelling life of Holiday, while the remaining four are dedicated to her music and recordings. A valuable bibliography of book, magazine, and newspaper references are included. Chilton admits that inconsistencies remain in his findings about Billie Holiday, however, he remains faithful to the spirit of Holiday and her musical career. Collier, James Lincoln. Jazz: The American Theme Song. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993. This resource does not particularly deal with jazz musicians, but makes brief, indirect references to them. The focus lies primarily on examining jazz as a reflection of the American culture. This issue is observed from a variety of positions. Cook, Richard and Brian Morton. The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, LP, and Cassette. New York: Penguin Books, 1992. This book begins with the Original Dixieland Jazz Band and continues up to present day recordings. It excludes blues albums and albums by jazz performers which are not jazz in nature. Each record is given a star rating, evaluating the quality of the recording. Following the rating is the title, its label and catalogue number, and the formats in which it is available. The next line lists the musicians who are playing on the disc, where the recording is available, and the date of the recording. Listed in alphabetical order by musician, the guide ends with a miscellaneous section and a huge index. This is one of the most comprehensive and critical jazz guides available. Cooper, Sarah, ed. Girls! Girls! Girls!: Essays on Women and Music. New York: New York University Press, 1996. This book contains twelve essays concerning contemporary issues regarding women in the music industry and particular women musicians. Taking the raw, unrestrained approach to some sensitive topics such as gangsta rap, this book comes directly to the point, using language which may be offensive to some. This information is not useful when collecting biographical background information on traditional musicians, but is helpful in finding information on contemporary, female, African-American musicians and illuminating discriminations towards women in music. Crowther, Bruce and Mike Pinfold. The Jazz Singers: From Ragtime to the New Wave. New York: Sterling Publishing, 1986. The book opens with the chapter, "Africa, Europe and the New World", briefly surveying the origins and vocal traditions of jazz. The separate genres of blues, spirituals, ragtime, and jazz emerged from these origins and became a central part of American popular music. The following chapters discuss the many singers who thrived against this background: Ma Rainey, Mamie Smith, Ida Cox, Bessie Smith, Ethel Waters, Billie Holiday, Carmen McRae, and many more. Included is "...an assessment of the place these singers hold in the history of jazz based upon their performances". A bibliography and selected discography can be found in the back of this informative and insightful resource. Dahl, Linda. Stormy Weather: The Music and Lives of a Century of Jazz Women. New York: Proscenium Pub. Inc., 1984. An extremely thorough resource, Stormy Weather basically tells the story of female blues and jazz musicians from the 1890's to the 1980's; their loves, hopes, dreams, failures and struggles. Of particular interest is their struggle with the oppressive consequences of being black, female musicians in a musical genre dominated by white men during the jazz rage of the 1920's. Dahl describes the jazz genre as one which was entirely male dominated and where women, both black and white, had to either fight for their place on the stage or refrain from playing jazz at all. The book maintains a chronological sequence, dividing each period stylistically. This is an excellent source for biographical, as well as general historical information. Located in the back of the book is a brief biographical sketch on over 200 female (both black and white) jazz musicians plus overviews on all-female jazz bands, songwriters, and lyricists. A large discography follows. Davis, Francis. Outcats: Jazz Composers, Instrumentalists, and Singers. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990. Although primarily focused on male jazz musicians, Outcats contains insightful, if not interesting information on two jazz queens: Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday. There are ten pages dedicated to Holiday which contain excerpts from books and magazine articles, some possibly fictional, bringing alive the estranged life of this jazz singer. Ella Fitzgerald, however, is reduced to a mere two-and-a-half pages, briefly giving critique on her performance style. Overall, this source gives little scholarly information on female musicians, however, since more is known about male musicians, a greater amount of that information is available in this text. Ericson, Margaret D. Women and Music: a Selective Annotated Bibliography on Women and Gender Issues in Music. 1987- 1992. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1996. This book is an extremely helpful resource for finding sources on almost any issue involving women and music. Especially noteworthy is a specific chapter on references dealing with women's roles in jazz and blues from the early 1920's to the present. Giddins, Gary. Riding On A Blue Note: Jazz and American Pop. New York: Oxford University Press, 1981. The first section of this book is devoted to the singers of jazz, most notably, Ethel Waters, Sarah Vaughn, and Betty Carter. The second section covers jazz instrumentalists, while the third and fourth sections discuss "Composers and Movements" and "Adventures in the Jazz Trade" respectively. The entire book devotes each chapter to a particular jazz musician, giving biographical information, discussing as well the influence they had on subsequent musicians. For one desiring information on women in jazz, this reference is not particularly helpful, however, the information concerning men in jazz is quite extensive. Giddins adds a slight touch of cynicism to his analysis which makes for highly entertaining reading. There is also a discography located at the end of the book. Gourse, Leslie. Louis' Children: American Jazz Singers. New York: Quill, 1984. A highly extensive resource for biographical information on blues and jazz musicians, black and white, male and female, traditional and contemporary. This book is arranged into four main sections, each covering a different erain the development of blues and jazz. The first section, "Prelude", discusses the precursors to jazz; the gospel/spiritualand early blues performers. Second comes "The Big-Band Era" of the thirties and forties, and with it an examination of such performers as Billie Holiday, Big Joe Turner, and Louis Armstrong. The third section entitled "Singers on Their Own" is a compilation of biographies on solo jazz musicians such as Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington, Carmen McRae, and Mel Torme. The last section, "The B- Natural Generation", discusses more contemporary jazz artists ranging from the 1960's to the present. There is an extensive amount of information covering both men and women in jazz. ( This book is highly recommended for a biographical search on almost any jazz and blues musician.) There is a list of jazz-influenced singers at the end of the book. Grimes, Kitty. Jazz Voices. New York: Quartet Books, 1983. This is a particularly interesting source because the entire book is comprised of quotes extracted from interviews with jazz musicians and jazz experts. The chapters discuss the essence of jazz, the jazz style, specific musicians, both contemporary and traditional, the origins of jazz, personal struggles, stories, etc. The index holds the best guide towards finding a quote which discusses the topic of interest. This would not be the best resource for in-depth factual, biographical, or historical information, however, it gives insight about jazz and jazz musicians, and contains some very insightful quotes. The end of the book contains a short glossary of jazz terms.
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