Magic City
How the Birmingham Jazz Tradition Shaped the Sound of America
By Burgin Mathews
352 pp., 6.125 x 9.25, 29 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
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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."βCharles L. Hughes, author of Country Soul: Making Music and Making Race in the American South
"Birmingham, Alabama may seem an unlikely cradle of jazz. And yet Sun Ra was born there, and music teacher John T. "Fess" Whatley trained generations of Birmingham musicians who went on to make enormous contributions working alongside the likes of Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, and more. Magic City tells an essential story of American music."--David Menconi, author of Oh, Didn't They Ramble: Rounder Records and the Transformation of American Roots Music