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THE POWER OF BLACK MUSIC

Name: THE POWER OF BLACK MUSIC
Author: Jr. Floyd
ISBN: 0-19-508235-4

THE AFRICAN ORIGINS OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN MUSIC

by Jr. Floyd ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1995

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A wide-ranging, jargon-laden discussion of African-American music. Floyd (director of the Center for Black Music Research, Columbia College, Chicago) combines history and theory, beginning with African-American music's roots and progressing chronologically from early spirituals through blues, jazz, R&B, gospel, Motown, pop, and concert-hall music. Dozens of figures, both well-known and obscure, are mentioned, along with key musical works that are analyzed with a blend of anthropological, musicological, and self- made terms. Floyd believes that ``Signifyin(g)''—using metaphoric or indirect means as a mode of artistic expression—is the key element of African-American musical style. He identifies ``Call- Response,'' the use of a structure based on theme (the ``call'') and counter-theme (``response''), as a basis for much African- American expression. He shows how, in this tradition, the performance itself is far more important than the piece performed. Some of Floyd's ideas are controversial, such as his essentialist assertion that there is an African ``racial memory'' among African- Americans that influences the kinds of music they produce—a notion that oversimplifies a complex process including cultural, musical, social, and individual innovations by which a musical style is shaped. Floyd also tends to lump together such varied performers as early bluesmen Blind Lemon Jefferson and Mississippi John Hurt, calling both ``Mississippi Moaners,'' although Jefferson was from Texas, Hurt sang in a relaxed, open-voiced style, and neither is a typical representative of the Mississippi blues school. Many of the practices Floyd ascribes solely to African-American musicians, such as improvising new words based on stock sets of lyrical themes, are found in folk cultures throughout the world. Finally, his personal predilection for black concert-hall music over traditional or popular forms distorts the work. Of limited interest to the general reader, though it will inspire discussion in the musicological community.

Pub Date: April 1, 1995

ISBN: 0-19-508235-4

Page Count: 352

Publisher: Oxford Univ.

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1995

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.