Exploring Early Jazz
The Origins and Evolution of the New Orleans Style
by Daniel Hardie
Writers Club Press, 2002. 389pp. B & W photographs.
ISBN O 595-21876-8
Recently this magazine reviewed Daniel Hardie's previous work,
The Loudest Trumpet, giving the author's take on the Bolden legend
and here, to quote his own words, he sets out to "flesh out the story of
the development of New Orleans Jazz between 1897 and 1927 and show how
it relates to the traditional jazz of 2001.
Unlike many so-called 'new' histories of jazz, this book gives an in depth
coverage of the roots of the music with reference to the many musicians
and groups that are overlooked by the more superficial researchers and
Hardie is to be commended for his assiduity. To give an idea of the book's
scope, I'll quote a typical subject heading; "Ratty Music and Hot Ragtime
- 1907/17", where attention is given to many of' the 'pre -jazz' musicians
and the origins of their styles, including a study of the John Stark 'Red
Books' of rags, as they are called here. I would have liked to see
some mention of how, say, the contemporarily active W. C. Handy's Orchestra
of Memphis might have compared with such orchestras as Roblchaux's since,
from recorded evidence, they were playing such numbers as Bunch O' Blues,
which appears to contain the origins of Uptown Bump and was recorded
in New York in 1917 - but perhaps this would have been a side issue from
the book's stated brief.
Careful consideration
is rightly given, however, to such neglected unrecorded bands such as The
American Stars led by Willie Hightower and Richard M Jones' Four Hot Hounds
with well considered outlines of their activities. The white bands are
given their dues in a detailed chapter featuring names from Papa Laine
to the likes of Johnny De Droit and Happy Schilling.
A particularly
interesting section is devoted to the origins
of the instrumentation employed by New Orleans bands. This is typical
of the many thought provoking themes included in this welcome study, which
helps fill a gap in any New Orleans music enthusiast's library, encapsulating
as it does, many subjects that may in some cases have been dealt with in
separate books, but remain uncollated between the covers. It also provides
the ideal primer for those unfamiliar with New Orleans jazz and explains
how often fact versus fable can confuse one's view of the music, even though
oral histories have been of the utmost importance in documenting it.
A comprehensive bibliography has been appended
to assist further study and key references to the material used from the
invaluable Hogan Jazz Archive at Tulane University in New Orleans are also
included. Clearly a labour of love that deserves wide circulation.
Mr Hardie
is based in Australia and this is where the book is published but, according
to the imprint, his publishers are also based in the USA and the UK so
the book should be readily available at www.iuniverse.com
Mike Pointon