City of Gabriels: The History of Jazz in St. Louis, 1895-1973

Dennis Owlsey

Reedy Press, 2006 - Music - 200 pages

City of the Gabriels: The Jazz History of St. Louis by Dennis Owsley City of the Gabriels presents St. Louis's jazz history from 1895 to 1973. Highlighted with striking images from each era, this coffee-table book describes the lively world of jazz from the Mississippi riverboats to the smoke-filled clubs of Gaslight Square. The book explores talents and personalities like Tom Turpin, Frank Trumbauer, Singleton Palmer, Clark Terry, Jeanne Trevor, Willie Akins, Miles Davis, and countless others. Beginning with the ragtime era that helped jazz take root, the narrative, authored by St. Louis jazz DJ Dennis Owsley, combines first-person accounts with deft commentary. Stories from and about musicians, club owners, and aficionados abound, and Owsley places them in context. City of the Gabriels is a must for lovers of jazz. The book gives a needed insight into an enduring culture in St. Louis. It also serves as the companion to the eponymous exhibit opening September 21, 2006, at The Sheldon Art Galleries in St. Louis.

Contents

• Acknowledgments: iv
• Foreword: v
• Introduction: vi
• The PreJazz Era 18951919: viii
• The Riverboats and the 1920s 19191929: 14
• St Louis in the 1930s The Plantation Club the Unions and the Decline of the Riverboats 19301939: 46
• The War Years Jimmy Blanton Miles Daviss St Louis Years and the Inception of Jazz Radio in St Louis 19391949: 74
• The Jazz Scene in St Louis in the 1950s 19491960: 106
• The Rise Fall of Gaslight Square 19591967: 132
• The Polarization of St Louis Jazz Traditional Jazz BAG 19681973: 154
• Epilogue: 187
• Charter Members of the St Louis Jazz Club: 195
• Index: 196

About the author

Dennis Owsley hosts Jazz Unlimited, a radio program on KWMU-FM in St. Louis. He is also an accomplished photographer of jazz musicians. Owlsey is a retired industrial scientist currently serving as a senior adjunct professor at McKendree College.

Bibliographic information

• Title: City of Gabriels: The History of Jazz in St. Louis, 1895-1973
• Author: Dennis Owlsey
• Contributors: Clark Terry, Sheldon Art Galleries
• Publisher: Reedy Press, 2006
• ISBN: 1933370041, 9781933370040
• Length: 200 pages
• Subjects: History / United States / State & Local / Midwest (IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MN, MO, ND, NE, OH, SD, WI); Music / Genres & Styles / Jazz