Jazz and Justice:
Racism and the Political Economy of Music
$27 paper / 456 pages / 978-1-58367-785-8
By Gerald Horne
Reviewed by Barry Healy
A recent review of Gerald Horne’s Jazz and Justice does not mince words: “Not only did Black musicians have to deal with violent racism, those starting to achieve professional success ran into what is a recurring theme of this book – the criminal-industrial complex that is the US entertainment industry. Put simply, mobsters are at the heart of the industry.” As a work of social history, Jazz and Justice traces the origins of Jazz in the northern part of this hemisphere, but the issues it raises are quite contemporary. As his reviewer notes,
“the now-common expression ‘gig work’ originated in the jazz world. The near-endless list of Black jazz musicians who have died early deaths is testimony to the overwork the gig economy forced on them.”
You can read the full review at the Australian publication Green Left
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