This is a response paper for the article “A Jazzography: From Storyville to Lincoln Center”.
“A Jazzography: From Storyville to Lincoln Center” chronicles a flavorful timeline of the events of jazz. Using the jazz music itself as the main character in its tale, the article tells the story of jazz’s progression from its birth to the modern day.
In the early years as jazz was just blossoming, the key players in the scene established names for themselves. Many musicians influence this progression throughout the written history. The chronology names New York as a hotspot for jazz performances of musicians with names like Dizzie Gillespie and Miles Davis. Location, a significant factor during the origination of the jazz movement, appears in advantageous places throughout the chronology.
Interestingly, the music exhibited no racial bias, as was prevalent at the time of its emergence. The chronology mentions that jazz musicians found themselves performing in integrated bands long before the United States was talking about integration. This type of contributory detail outside of the world of the music adds an interesting flavor to the piece that appears in several places.
The author constructed a complete and balanced chronology, providing relevant jazz factoids regularly throughout the timeline. The granularity of the chronology includes key points in the evolution of jazz, however does not mark the beginning or ending of any jazz era. The chronology also does not include details related to the rise and fall of many of the specific artists that they mention. This might have led to a better understanding of the movement of jazz through the years. In addition, because the chronology focuses on jazz itself, the reader may find difficultly placing musicians of interest or significance in historical context.
The chronology overlooks many details, perhaps in an effort to crunch each bite of jazz history into a digestible nugget. The last entry mentions that the industry revived seven major jazz labels; however, the article only names one of the seven labels. In addition, many names appear during the timeline as famous musicians, but only one musician merits an obituary, which includes a strange reference to beached whales.
The chronology successfully details many of the key constituents of jazz. Overall, the chronology presents a concise view of the evolution of jazz.
