Recordings of Andy Kirk and his Clouds of Joy

Andy Kirk and his Clouds of Joy were a Kansas City jazz band that achieved nationwide fame in the later 1930s, but were criticized for their populism and inauthenticity. George Burrows' book explores how these negotiations over racialized styles shaped and can be heard in the recorded music, comparing the band's appropriation of musical styles to the manipulation of masks in blackface performance.

\n Format: Paperback / softback
\n Length: 232 pages
\n Publication date: 15 August 2019
\n Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc
\n

Andy Kirk and his Clouds of Joy, hailing from Kansas City, achieved widespread acclaim in the later 1930s. Their extensive discography, spanning from 1929 to 1949, became synonymous with the Kansas City jazz style. However, their music was also met with criticism for its perceived populism and lack of authenticity. In his book, "The Recordings of Andy Kirk and his Clouds of Joy," George Burrows delves into the significance of these recordings as a reflection of negotiations between black jazz musicians and the racist music industry during a pivotal era of American jazz's popularity and transformation. Burrows explores how these reformative negotiations shaped and can be heard in the recorded music. By comparing the band's appropriation of musical styles to the manipulation of masks in black forms of blackface performance, which both signify and subvert racist notions of black authenticity, Burrows reveals how the interplay between black musicians, their audiences, and critics impacted jazz as a practice and conception. This insightful examination provides a deeper understanding of the complex dynamics that shaped jazz during its formative years.

\n Weight: 316g\n
Dimension: 140 x 208 x 20 (mm)\n
ISBN-13: 9780199335596\n \n