Behop and Nothingness: Jazz and Pop at the End of the Century

by Francis Davis

Book Overview

This collection of essays and artist profiles examines the emergence of a jazz orthodoxy founded on the values of the late 1940s and 1950s, a time when bebop still represented a departure from convention. The author argues that for many modern young musicians and their audiences, bebop has become a way of playing it safe. In this overview of the jazz and pop scenes, Davis explores the greatness of the bebop legacy and celebrates the creativity of...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0028704711
• ISBN13: 9780028704715
• Release Date: March 1996
• Publisher: Schirmer Trade Books
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 5.9" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

A great jazz book

I always look forward to Davis's essays in 'The Atlantic.' He goes his own way and he's open to a lot of music that the neo-classical crowd shrugs off, such as John Zorn and Don Byron. His takes on musicians like Benny Carter and Art Pepper are unique and well thought out. More important, he's a great prose stylist. Sometimes I disagree with him, e.g., his opinions about hip-hop, but even then I find him pretty thought provoking. Check out his essay on Michael Jackson and Prince--Davis is a sharp observer of pop music, too. I wish they'd bring the rest of his books back in print.