If Benny Goodman was the "King of Swing," then Fletcher Henderson was
the power behind the throne. Now Jeffrey Magee offers a fascinating
account of Henderson's musical career, throwing new light on the
emergence of modern jazz and the world that created it.
Drawing on
an unprecedented combination of sources, including sound recordings and
hundreds of scores that have been available only since Goodman's death,
Magee illuminates Henderson's musical output, from his early work as a
New York bandleader, to his pivotal role in building the Kingdom of
Swing. He shows how Henderson, standing at the forefront of the New York
jazz scene during the 1920s and '30s, assembled the era's best
musicians, simultaneously preserving jazz's distinctiveness and
performing popular dance music that reached a wide audience. Magee
reveals how, in Henderson's largely segregated musical world, black and
white musicians worked together to establish jazz, how Henderson's style
rose out of collaborations with many key players, how these players
deftly combined improvised and written music, and how their work
negotiated artistic and commercial impulses.
Whether placing
Henderson's life in the context of the Harlem Renaissance or describing
how the savvy use of network radio made the Henderson-Goodman style a
national standard, Jeffrey Magee brings to life a monumental musician
who helped to shape an era.
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