Magic City
How the Birmingham Jazz Tradition Shaped the Sound of America
By Burgin Mathews

Approx. 352 pp., 6.125 x 9.25, 28 halftones, notes, bibl., index
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Paperback ISBN: 978-1-4696-7688-3
Published: November 2023 -
Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-4696-7687-6
Published: November 2023
Paperback Available November 2023, but pre-order your copy today!
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Blending deep archival research and original interviews with living elders of the Birmingham scene, Mathews elevates the stories of figures like John T. "Fess" Whatley, the pioneering teacher-bandleader who emphasized instrumental training as a means of upward mobility and community pride. Along the way, he takes readers into the high school band rooms, fraternal ballrooms, vaudeville houses, and circus tent shows that shaped a musical movement, revealing a community of players whose influence spread throughout the world.
About the Author
Burgin Mathews is a writer, a radio host, and the founding director of the nonprofit Southern Music Research Center.
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Reviews
"Magic City is destined to become a crucial book in jazz history, African American cultural politics, the sonic geographies of cities, and the history of the South."—Charles L. Hughes, author of Country Soul: Making Music and Making Race in the American South