Early Jazz: A Concise Introduction, From Its Beginnings Through 1929 (2024) Book Review

Fumi Tomita’s book Early Jazz: A Concise Introduction, From Its Beginnings Through 1929 is intended as an update on Gunther Schuller’s 1968 book Early Jazz: Its Roots And Musical Development, focusing on the period from the late 1800s up to 1929, though it does occasionally get into the 1930s. And though, as it says, it is an introduction to the subject, this book is able to provide lots of fascinating details. It also provides analyses of specific standout tracks that work as examples of the different types of songs being played at that time. Fumi Tomita is Associate Professor of Jazz at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and a musician. This book follows his The Jazz Rhythm Section: A Manual For Band Directors, published in 2019.

The book begins with ragtime, “Jazz’s strongest precursor” (p. 7). I’ve always associated ragtime with certain instrumental tracks, but Fumi Tomita discusses how vocal ragtime predates those familiar numbers. That’s something I didn’t know, and I was also surprised at the fairly offensive titles (at least by modern standards) of some of those songs. Tomita provides biographical information on Scott Joplin, and focuses on “Maple Leaf Rag,” including a detailed analysis of the song’s various sections. This first chapter also gets into minstrel shows and vaudeville, and their place in the development of jazz. He follows that with a chapter on the blues, including work songs, and focuses on the great Bessie Smith. Then he takes us to New Orleans, with the influence of the brass bands, writing, “The first generation of jazz musicians began their careers in brass bands with the Olympia Brass Band led by trumpeter Freddie Keppard and the Onward Brass Band led by trumpeter Manuel Perez” (p. 34). He provides information on Buddy Bolden, “widely acknowledged as the first jazz musician” (p. 35). Interestingly, he was also the first jazz musician to suffer severe mental health problems, and was declared insane and died in an asylum. The book also contains information on Original Dixieland Jazz Band, the first jazz band to record, releasing a record in 1917. The book includes an analysis of that record.

Just as many musicians did at the time, this book moves from New Orleans to Chicago, focusing on Joe “King” Oliver and Jelly Roll Morton, and their influence on music. Tomita writes, “Attracted to expressive sounds on the instrument, Oliver experimented with different ways to mute his cornet using his derby hat and a plunger mute, among other items that are still used today” (p. 53). The book’s next few chapters get into the New York scene, with groups like the Original Memphis Five, The Georgians and The California Ramblers (interestingly, none of those bands’ members are from the places of their names). Tomita focuses one of those chapters on a specific style of playing known as stride piano, “a descendant of ragtime that emerged in Harlem cutting sessions during the 1910s and 1920s” (p. 79). Tomita continues: “A highly virtuosic style of performance, stride required advanced technique, range, and tempo than what was previously heard in ragtime; its name is derived from the speed of the left hand alternating between bass note and chord” (p. 79). That section focuses on several musicians, including Fats Waller. The exploration of the New York jazz scene continues with a concentration on the dance bands, with information on James Reese Europe, Paul Whiteman, Fletcher Henderson and Duke Ellington. Duke Ellington had his first band in high school, and that is also when he got the nickname “Duke.”

Fumi Tomita dedicates an entire chapter to Louis Armstrong, who lived in New Orleans, then Chicago and then New York, the three cities on which this book is focused, and in the order in which they are the focus. Tomita writes: “While the Hot Five records contain outstanding examples of Armstrong’s playing, they also contain his first recorded vocals. He always loved to sing but was not allowed to during his tenures with Oliver and Henderson” (p. 115). The chapter includes a study of “West End Blues.” It also includes information on Louis Armstrong’s wife, Lil Harden Armstrong, a jazz pianist. The book’s later chapters include information on other musicians who had a great impact on jazz, as well as other cities where the music thrived, in so-called territory bands. One thing this book does, perhaps unsurprisingly, is provide me with a list of records I need to add to my collection. For example, I had no idea that James P. Johnson did a rag version of Grieg’s “Peer Gynt Suite,” and I most certainly need to own that. And there are several other records that are discussed in this book that I wish to possess. Interestingly, the book mentions that the popularity of the radio contributed to a drop in sales of records, something that we now talk about with regards to streaming services.

Early Jazz: A Concise Introduction, From Its Beginnings Through 1929 was published in a hardcover edition on February 1, 2024 through SUNY Press, and is now available in paperpack.