Cross the Water Blues: African American Music in EuropeNeil A. Wynn Contributions from Christopher G. Bakriges, Sean Creighton, Jeffrey Green, Leighton Grist, Bob Groom, Rainer E. Lotz, Paul Oliver, Catherine Parsonage, Iris Schmeisser, Roberta Freund Schwartz, Robert Springer, Rupert Till, Guido van Rijn, David Webster, Jen Wilson, and Neil A. Wynn This unique collection of essays examines the flow of African American music and musicians across the Atlantic to Europe from the time of slavery to the twentieth century. In a sweeping examination of different musical forms--spirituals, blues, jazz, skiffle, and orchestral music--the contributors consider the reception and influence of black music on a number of different European audiences, particularly in Britain, but also France, Germany, and the Netherlands. The essayists approach the subject through diverse historical, musicological, and philosophical perspectives. A number of essays document little-known performances and recordings of African American musicians in Europe. Several pieces, including one by Paul Oliver, focus on the appeal of the blues to British listeners. At the same time, these considerations often reveal the ambiguous nature of European responses to black music and in so doing add to our knowledge of transatlantic race relations. |
Contents
| 3 | |
2 Taking the Measure of the Blues | 23 |
FEELING BAD FOR NO REASON | 39 |
4 Spirituals to Nearly Swing 18731938 | 51 |
AMERICAN ORIGINS AND GERMAN PERSPECTIVES | 66 |
RESPONSES TO EARLY JAZZ IN BRITAIN | 89 |
JOSEPHINE BAKER AND THE PRIMITIVIST RECEPTION OF JAZZ IN PARIS IN THE 1920S | 106 |
8 Paul Robesons British Journey | 125 |
ORIGINALITY IN THE COMPOSITION OF BLUES AND BRITISH SKIFFLE | 167 |
THE BLUES IN THE MUSIC OF THE BEATLES THE ROLLING STONES AND LED ZEPPELIN | 183 |
THE BLUES MODERNITY AND THE BRITISH BLUES BOOM | 202 |
THE RECEPTION OF AFRICAN AMERICAN BLUES AND GOSPEL MUSIC IN THE NETHERLANDS | 218 |
14 The Blues in France | 235 |
AFRICAN AMERICAN JAZZ MUSICIANS IN EUROPE FROM BECHET TO BRAXTON | 250 |
CONTRIBUTORS | 266 |
| 271 | |
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African American jazz African American music album Alexis Korner Amsterdam appeared Armstrong audiences band banjo Beatles became Big Bill Broonzy black American black culture black music black musicians blues artists blues music blues records blues singers Bob Groom British blues boom Chicago Club Coleridge-Taylor collectors concert dance discs early Europe European film folk music France French genre Germany guitar guitarist Hall Harlem included influence issued jazz and blues jazz in Britain Jimmy John Lee Hooker Johnson Josephine Baker Jubilee Singers Korner label later Leadbelly Led Zeppelin London Lonnie Donegan Louis Max Jones Melody Maker minstrel modern modernist Muddy Waters Negro Netherlands original Paris Paul Oliver Paul Robeson played popular music primitivist published racial radio ragtime Rainer Revue nègre rhythm & blues Rock Island Line Rolling Stones singing skiffle song Spirituals style tour tradition Tumulte noir United Kingdom University Press World Yardbirds York