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9780292708600 Academic Inspection Copy

The Jazz of the Southwest

An Oral History of Western Swing
  • ISBN-13: 9780292708600
  • Publisher: UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS PRESS
    Imprint: UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS PRESS
  • By Jean A. Boyd
  • Price: AUD $66.99
  • Stock: 0 in stock
  • Availability: This book is temporarily out of stock, order will be despatched as soon as fresh stock is received.
  • Local release date: 30/07/1998
  • Format: Paperback (229.00mm X 152.00mm) 293 pages Weight: 454g
  • Categories: Country & Western music [AVGL]
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They may wear cowboy hats and boots and sing about "faded love," but western swing musicians have always played jazz! From Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys to Asleep at the Wheel, western swing performers have played swing jazz on traditional country instruments, with all of the required elements of jazz, and some of the best solo improvisation ever heard. In this book, Jean A. Boyd explores the origins and development of western swing as a vibrant current in the mainstream of jazz. She focuses in particular on the performers who made the music, drawing on personal interviews with some fifty living western swing musicians. From pioneers such as Cliff Bruner and Eldon Shamblin to current performers such as Johnny Gimble, the musicians make important connections between the big band swing jazz they heard on the radio and the western swing they created and played across the Southwest from Texas to California. From this first-hand testimony, Boyd re-creates the world of western swing-the dance halls, recording studios, and live radio shows that broadcast the music to an enthusiastic listening audience. Although the performers typically came from the same rural roots that nurtured country music, their words make it clear that they considered themselves neither "hillbillies" nor "country pickers," but jazz musicians whose performance approach and repertory were no different from those of mainstream jazz. This important aspect of the western swing story has never been told before.
Jean A. Boyd is Professor of Musicology at the Baylor University School of Music in Waco, Texas.
Preface Note to the Reader Introduction: Western Swing and the Texas Mystique Chapter 1. Western Swing: Description and Development Chapter 2. Western Swing Fiddlers Chapter 3. Western Swing Guitarists Chapter 4. The Steel Guitar in Western Swing Chapter 5. The Western Swing Rhythm Section: Banjo and Bass Chapter 6. The Western Swing Rhythm Section: Piano and Drums Chapter 7. The Rest of the Western Swing Band: Horn Players and Vocalists Conclusion Notes Works Cited Index
Although Boyd states that 'this book is only a beginning', Jazz of the Southwest is, in fact, a rich source of information on both the music and the men who made the music. It is a thoughtful and readable celebration of western swing. (Western Historical Quarterly)
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