Why Jazz Happened Hardcover – December 10, 2012

I have read the columns of Marc Myers in "The Wall Street Journal" and enjoyed them, so I went on to read his recent book "The Anatomy of a Song," the songs of which were mostly familiar and absolutely rang true for me. Having enjoyed his columns and recent book, I purchased and read his earlier work "Why Jazz Happened." I was not disappointed. I admit to be innocent of the deep knowledge that many jazz afficionados have. Still, it didn't seem necessary for this externalist account of the development on jazz, i.e., a look at how jazz developed by looking at large social events and developments that were taking place outside the world of jazz. This book is amazingly successful at what it set out to do, which was to provide a social history of jazz. No doubt it should be supplemented by an internal account of the development of jazz and I, for one, would be eager to learn of a book that does it well. There an be no doubt, however, that this book is essential for understanding "Why Jazz Happened."

Marc Myers is the kind of Jazz writer who never rests for a minute. He writes a daily blog called jazzwax (dot com) which is full of engaging interviews, opinions and recommendations about the music he so clearly knows and loves.I believe the true audience for this book is much wider than just those interested in the history of Jazz. The book actually covers social and economic topics such as the advent of the LP and 45rpm records and the business rivalries that led to the emergence of pop, rock and even classical music as an at-home-entertainment industry. This book is probably just as important as an MBA case study as it is to the history of Jazz. Myers' coverage of the GI Bill and how it led to a generation of "schooled" musicians is another interesting social and political phenomenon that is of general interest, and helps explain why there is such a proliferation of music majors even today.I don't mean in any way to diminish the importance of this book as a history of Jazz. My point is that it is much wider in scope. Myers set out to explain why Jazz happened, and he ended up explaining why the music industry as a whole happened, and the central role America has played in its evolution. A must-read for all music lovers.

Why Jazz Happened is not your typical history of jazz. You won't get long biographies of Coltrane, Davis, and Monk. You won't get in-depth analyses of great songs, albums, or soloists. What you will get is the story of how cultural, social, and historical variables all helped to create jazz. Coltrane's extended solos, after all, are as much a product of the civil rights struggle and invention of the long play (LP) record as they were about Coltrane's upbringing and his legendary quartet. Bebop owes as much to the musician's union's strike (barring members from recording for two years in order to petition for royalties for recorded music) as it does to the pioneering vision of artists like Dizzy Gillespie.So, Why Jazz Happened is a history of jazz, yes; but it is as much a history about American culture told through the story of jazz. West Coast jazz (a favorite of mine), for instance, is largely 'explained' (though Marc Myers is no reductionist) by the housing boom in post-WWII West Coast and the fact that many touring musicians decided to settle there, developing a laid back sound to match the laid back weather and atmosphere. Spiritual jazz (from Coltrane's "A Love Supreme" to Rollins's "Freedom Suite") is argued to be largely an outgrowth of black musicians' disappointment with legal and cultural segregation, and the lack of progress toward equality; many black artists increasingly wrote spiritual-influenced jazz expressing their anger at the present and hope toward the future. Soul jazz (from Lou Donaldson to Grant Green) is seen as jazz musicians' and record labels' attempts to get R&B record buyers to come back and buy jazz records. I hope I am not making Myers's explanations sound too simplistic; his story makes use of an impressive array of primary and secondary sources including interviews with the musicians (and 'behind the secenes' folks like record executives) working at the times in question.If I have one complaint, it is that the book goes off in many different directions, sometimes, feeling a bit long winded. The chapter on West Coast jazz, for instance, gokes on for 20 or so pages on the ins and outs of Los Angeles's post-WWII booming housing market and the urban planning involved in dealing with the sprawl. Sections like these (another is an in-depth story of the creation of the LP record) are interesting for 10 or so pages, but the reader can get a bit bogged down in these details. (I suspect that during these times, most readers will be saying "let's get to the jazz part." I know I was.)But all in all, I kept reading. The book was very interesting, particularly because it was both about jazz and the cultural surroundings that advertently and inadvertently shaped it. I know I will never listen to some of my favorites the same way again. Now, these favorites will come a bit more to life. And I think that is a good thing.

There are many histories of jazz but Mr Myers puts jazz into history – into social context and does it well. His writing is a blend of the observations of those from within jazz and his own which happen to be, as are mine, quite centrist, eclectic, and ever cognizant of the fact that jazz evolved as entertainment. This hardly diminishes jazz but as jazz jazz wandered off and many participants bemoan the diminishing enthusiasm and market they might do well to read this book.

Marc Myers' background in history is immediately apparent as "Why Jazz Happened" chronicles the last century in intimate detail. From the cultural, political, social, and personal influences that impressed themselves on the ever-changing genres of swing, big band, bebop and "jass," this book will heighten readers' appreciation for one of the most American types of music. Highly recommended to anyone with even the slightest interest in Jazz, after the introduction and first chapter you will be hooked, and you just might become a Jazz fan for life. Good tip: cue up different tracks to listen to (from YouTube, Whyd, etc) that Myers mentions while you read along. You can actually see the progression of the artists and the music itself.

GREAT READ!

Great Book

Answered many of my questions about the development of the business of jazz.

The writer is clearly very knowledgeable and has an engaging style. The book covers the period 1942 to 1972 - t's not about the origins of jazz, even though there is some reference to early jazz recording. But if you want to know about the development of the music from bebop to hardbop to fusion, this is the one.

Informative !

It’s rare to find a music history that does more than just list who played with who and when. As a trained historian it was good to see that great effort was made to place jazz inside significant world events that influenced our lives and how war, technology, race and urban development can permeate into jazz music.

I have read many books on jazz and this one has given me a different insight on the subject. A good read and very informative.

This a fascinating and well researched study of how the development of jazz has interacted with the economic conditions of the time, the technologies of recording, and social and cultural changes such as the introduction of the GI Bill after the Second War.It engages with all the different movements from the 1940s to 1972, and all the great names, but the history of jazz is no longer seen as a succession of gifted individuals from out of the blue, but of how those individuals (and their reputations) were shaped by economic, social and technological factors. In other words it's a new historicist take on jazz and indispensable reading for anyone interested in the field, but more than that, the details of how jazzmen worked and recorded, and the rivalries between record companies, and the challenges of new recording techniques, are all absolutely fascinating, fresh and entertaining.