jazz — Bunk History

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John Bubbles dancing and Buck Washington playing keyboard, performing in Brooklyn, New York, 1930.

Never the Same Step Twice

Previous generations of dancers arranged their steps into tidy, regular phrases; John Bubbles enjambed over bar lines, multiplying, twisting, tilting, turning.

by Brian Seibert via New York Review of Books on April 21, 2022

Dancers performing the Cakewalk.

Reconsidering Scott Joplin's 'The Entertainer'

The king of ragtime published his hit tune 120 years ago. Pianist Lara Downes believes the piece helped shape the future of American music.

by Lara Downes via NPR on February 7, 2022

Two people watching Cliff Edwards perform on the ukelele.

Ukulele Ike, a.k.a. Cliff Edwards, Sings Again

Ukulele Ike, otherwise known as Cliff Edwards, was a major American pop star and an important early force in jazz. It’s time to give him another hearing.

by Donald Fagen via Jazztimes on December 7, 2020

Two adults holding hands with a child in front of a Christmas tree

The Oracle of Our Unease

The enchanted terms in which F. Scott Fitzgerald portrayed modern America still blind us to how scathingly he judged it.

by Sarah Churchwell via New York Review of Books on September 24, 2020

Billie Holiday performs on stage.

A Brief History of the Policing of Black Music

Harmony Holiday dreams of a Black sound unfettered by white desire.

by Harmony Holiday via Literary Hub on June 19, 2020

Cartoon by Joey Perr; a man in a top hat and holding a monacle studies a sign broadcasting Ella Fitzgerald as music notes fill the air.

What’s Going On

The vexed history of "Night Life" in the New Yorker.

by Phillip Golub via The Drift on May 22, 2020

An Eight-Second Film of 1915 New Orleans and the Mystery of Louis Armstrong’s Happiness

How could Armstrong, born indisputably black at the height of Jim Crow and raised poor, be so happy?

by Gwen Thompkins via The New Yorker on July 8, 2019

Muslims Arrived in America 400 Years Ago and Today are Vastly Diverse

Islamophobes today ignore the long history and contributions of Muslim Americans.

by Saeed Ahmed Khan via The Conversation on April 11, 2019

‘The Snake’: How Trump Appropriated a Radical Black Singer’s Lyrics

A former communist from Chicago wrote the song in the 1960s, decades before Trump turned it into an anti-immigrant fable.

by Eli Rosenberg via Washington Post on February 24, 2018

The Racist Legacy of NYC’s Anti-Dancing Law

The cabaret law—and its prejudicial history—is one of the city's darkest secrets.

by Eli Kerry, Penn Bullock via Vice on March 8, 2017

C. L. Franklin and his daughter Aretha.

The Man with the Million Dollar Voice

The mighty but divided soul of C.L. Franklin.

by Tony Scherman via The Believer on July 1, 2013

Ella Fitzgerald performing in Paris, 1961

Rare Gift, Rare Grit

Ella Fitzgerald performed above the emotional fray.

by Martha Bayles via The Hedgehog Review on May 23, 2025

Mannequins model Black fashion ranging from ethnic apparel to suits.

Turning Style Into Power: How the Black Dandy Used Clothing to Challenge Authority

At the Met, "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style" shows how clothing became a way for Black men to assert presence and push back against control.

by Richard Thompson Ford via The Yale Review on May 20, 2025

Leonard Bernstein practices with the Vienna Philharmonic in 1967.

How Leonard Bernstein Changed the Canon

In 1966, the conductor arrived in Vienna with a mission: to restore Gustav Mahler’s place in 20th-century music.

by David Denby via The Atlantic on April 1, 2025

Shield with the words "For European Recovery Supplied by the United States of America."

Soft Power

What it means, why it matters, and where it started.

by Lindsay M. Chervinsky via Imperfect Union on March 15, 2025

A New Discovery Sheds Light on Malcolm X’s Journey to Islam

The civil rights leader’s lone poem, written from prison, reveals his love of language — and his quest for truth.

by Patrick Parr via New Lines on February 21, 2025

Newspaper clips depicting opinions on recorded music

When Hollywood Union Members Embraced Artificial Music

In 1929, the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) railed against the growing trend of recorded music in movie theaters instead of live musicians.

by Louis Anslow via Pessimists Archive on February 5, 2025

A nurse passing a cup with methadone through a glass window.

History Exposes the Flaw in RFK Jr.'s Drug Treatment Plan

Kennedy wants to create "wellness drug rehabilitation farms." But the U.S. tried it before, and it didn't work.

by Melody Glenn via Made By History on January 30, 2025

People protesting the demolition of homes to make way for the performing arts saying "shelter before culture."

Lincoln Center Destroyed Lives for the Sake of the Arts

The terrific new doc “San Juan Hill” chronicles the 1960s land grab that gave the Metropolitan Opera a home, while scattering longtime residents.

by Elizabeth Zimmer via Village Voice on October 3, 2024

Billie Holiday singing in a recording studio.

Decades After Billie Holiday’s Death, ‘Strange Fruit’ is Still a Searing Testament to Injustice

Christian and Jewish themes influenced the world of art around one of jazz’s greatest singers.

by Tracy Fessenden via The Conversation on July 15, 2024

A photograph of saxophonist Dexter Gordon at Jazzhus Montmartre in Copenhagen in 1964.

Why the Nordic Countries Emerged as a Haven for 20th-Century African American Expatriates

An exhibition in Seattle spotlights the Black artists and performers who called Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden home between the 1930s and the 1980s.

by Tamara J. Walker via Smithsonian on June 20, 2024

Lincoln Center on the opening night of the Met Opera, 1966.

Curtains for Lincoln Center

On the falsification of Lincoln Center’s history.

by James Panero via The New Criterion on April 17, 2024

Should a Colombian Buy a Banjo?

How preparation for a big purchase turned into an adventure through history.

by Santiago Flórez via HNN on April 16, 2024

Clara Bow

Taylor Swift’s Homage to Clara Bow

The star of the 1920s silver screen who appears on Taylor Swift’s new album abruptly left Hollywood at the height of her success.

by Deirdre Clemente, Annie Delgado via The Conversation on April 15, 2024

Painting of Arnold Schoenberg in Los Angeles.

How Arnold Schoenberg Changed Hollywood

He moved to California during the Nazi era, and his music—which ranged from the lushly melodic to the rigorously atonal—caught the ears of everyone.

by Alex Ross via The New Yorker on March 11, 2024

Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway standing on stage singing to each other.

Radical Light

The cosmic collision of Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway.

by Ashawnta Jackson via Oxford American on December 5, 2023

Chuck Berry performing with a guitar.

The Transgressor

RJ Smith’s biography of Chuck Berry examines his subject’s instinct for crossing the line musically, racially, and morally.

by RJ Smith via New York Review of Books on September 28, 2023

Cover of sheet music for “Euphonic Sounds: A Syncopated Novelty” by Scott Joplin (1909).

Scott Joplin

The ragtime composer's life, career, and resurrection.

by Alan Jacobs via Comment on April 24, 2023

Drawing of performers and different audio technologies.

The End of the Music Business

A century of recorded music has culminated in the infinite archive of streaming platforms. But is it really better for listeners?

by Ethan Iverson via The Nation on April 10, 2023

Roland Rhythm Composer

What Drum Machines Can Teach Us About Artificial Intelligence

As AI drum machines embrace humanising imperfections, what does this mean for ‘real’ drummers and the soul of music?

by Jack Stilgoe via Aeon on February 28, 2023

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