Crossing Bar Lines: The Politics and Practices of Black Musical Space

Williams, James Gordon

ISBN 10: 1496832116 / ISBN 13: 9781496832115

Published by University Press of Mississippi, 2021

About this Item

2021 paperback stated 1st printing. A lot of curling, a bit of foxing, else text clean, binding tight. small fray on bottom of front cover.

Seller Inventory # ABE-1761927828381

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Crossing Bar Lines: The Politics and Practices of Black Musical Space
• Publisher: University Press of Mississippi
• Publication Date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1496832116
• ISBN 13: 9781496832115
• Binding: Soft cover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Very Good

About this title

Synopsis

In Crossing Bar Lines: The Politics and Practices of Black Musical Space James Gor-don Williams reframes the nature and purpose of jazz improvisation to illuminate the cultural work being done by five creative musicians between 2005 and 2019. The political thought of five African American improvisers—trumpeters Terence Blanchard and Ambrose Akinmusire, drummers Billy Higgins and Terri Lyne Carrington, and pianist Andrew Hill—is documented through insightful, multilayered case studies that make explicit how these musicians articu-late their positionality in broader society.

Informed by Black feminist thought, these case studies unite around the theory of Black musical space that comes from the lived expe-riences of African Americans as they improvise through daily life. The central argument builds upon the idea of space-making and the geographic imagination in Black Geographies theory. Williams considers how these musicians interface with contemporary social movements like Black Lives Matter, build alternative institutional models that challenge gender imbalance in improvisation culture, and practice improvisation as joyful affirmation of Black value and mobility. Both Terence Blanchard and Ambrose Akinmusire innovate musical strategies to address systemic violence. Billy Higgins’s performance is discussed through the framework of breath to understand his politics of inclusive space. Terri Lyne Carrington confronts patriar-chy in jazz culture through her Social Science music project. The work of Andrew Hill is exam-ined through the context of his street theory, revealing his political stance on performance and pedagogy. All readers will be elevated by this innovative and timely book that speaks to issues that continue to shape the lives of African Americans today.

About the Authors

James Gordon Williams is a transdisciplinary musician and scholar in critical improvisation studies and popular music studies. He has collaborated with artists as varied as Joseph Jarman, Gregory Porter, and Fred Moten and performed at jazz festivals around the world. Williams is assistant professor at Syracuse University.

Robin D. G. Kelley, Distinguished Professor and Gary B. Nash Endowed Chair in US History, UCLA, is author or editor of numerous books including Africa Speaks, America Answers: Modern Jazz in Revolutionary Times and Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original.