PART I
Background of the Subject Literature
A. Formats.
As an important art form of the 20th Century, jazz can be researched in traditional references sources on humanities, art, and culture, alongside classical, folk, country, and rock music, as well as in academic music journals.
Jazz, at the heart of the matter, is a recorded conversation that has been preserved for a century, first on Edison cylinders, then wax and vinyl records, and now in various digital media.
- Access to these recordings can be made through discographies, which typically list artists and record labels.
- Musical scores are a starting point for capturing the craft of the jazz musician, but because of the freedom allowed by the music style, what is printed on the page may not be what leaves the instrument.
- Specialty books, magazines and newspapers tell the story of jazz, from its rich history up to what is playing tonight at a nearby live music venue.
- Concert programs and posters advertising performances, which are art forms in their own right, may provide a vivid visual depiction of the jazz scene.
- Research can be conducted in local and trade newspapers for critical reviews of these performances.
- The researcher might consider, in addition to studying a book on jazz, experiencing it through live performance for a personal interpretation.
- Jazz music is portrayed in films and documentaries, showing the lives of the great artists who made their contribution famous, and others who play jazz not for fame, but for art's sake.
- Jazz permeates the musical culture, so its influence can be studied in the performances of the American theater.
- Finally, jazz music is preserved in radio stations and sound studios across the country, which in past decades made sound recordings of musicians promoting their songs.
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