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"Now available in paperback, William C. Banfield's acclaimed collection of interviews delves into the lives and work of forty-one Black composers. Each of the profiled artists offers a candid self-portrait that explores areas from training and compositional techniques to working in an exclusive canon that has existed for a very long time. At the same time, Banfield draws on sociology, Western concepts of art and taste, and vernacular musical forms like blues and jazz to provide a frame for the artists' achievements and help to illuminate the ongoing progress and struggles against industry barriers. Expanded illustrations and a new preface by the author provide invaluable added context, making this new edition an essential companion for anyone interested in Black composers or contemporary classical music"--
List of contents
Dedication Foreword Preface: Black Beethovens: Essential Conversations with American Composers In Loving Memory Acknowledgments Introduction Part 1: Laying the Foundations Part 2: The Arrived and the Acknowledged, Part 1 (1922–1936)
- H. Leslie Adams
- Thomas J. Anderson
- David Baker
- Noel DaCosta
- George Russell
- Hale Smith
- Frederick C. Tillis
- George Walker
Part 3: The Arrived and the Acknowledged, Part 2 (1937–1945)
- Adolphus Hailstork
- Wendell Logan
- Dorothy Rudd Moore
- Olly Wilson
Part 4: Perspectives on Spirituality, Jazz, and Contemporary Popular Languages
- Dwight Andrews
- Ysaye Maria Barnwell
- Billy Childs
- George Duke
- Jester Hairston
- Herbie Hancock
- Stephen Newby
- Michael Powell
- Billy Taylor
- Tony Williams
- Michael Woods
Part 5: The Composer as Conductor and Composer
- Leslie Dunner
- Bobby McFerrin
- Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson
- Patrice Rushen
- Kevin Scott
- Julius Williams
Part 6: Generation X and Beyond (1950–1965)
- Michael Abels
- Lettie Beckon Alston
- William C. Banfield
- Regina Harris Baiocchi
- Anthony Davis
- Donal Fox
- Jonathan Holland
- Anthony Kelley
- Jeffrey Mumford
- Gary Powell Nash
- Evelyn Simpson-Curenton
- James Kimo Williams
Postlude: Extensions of the Tradition—Linkages and Canon Index About the Author
About the author
William C. Banfield is a composer, jazz performer, and professor emeritus and the founding director of the Africana Studies Center at the Berklee College of Music. His books include
Cultural Codes: Makings of a Black Music Philosophy and
Black Notes: Essays of a Musician Writing in a Post-Album Age.
