The Return of Jazz Joachim-Ernst Berendt and West German Cultural Change [Paperback]

Jazz has had a peculiar and fascinating history in Germany. The influential but controversial German writer, broadcaster, and record producer, Joachim-Ernst Berendt (1922–2000), author of the world's best-selling jazz book, labored to legitimize jazz in West Germany after its ideological renunciation during the Nazi era. German musicians began, in a highly productive way, to question their all-too-eager adoption of American culture and how they sought to make valid artistic statements reflecting their identity as Europeans. This book explores the significance of some of Berendt's most important writings and record productions. Particular attention is given to the Jazz Meets the World encounters that he engineered with musicians from Japan, Tunisia, Brazil, Indonesia, and India. This proto- world music demonstrates how some West Germans went about creating a post-nationalist identity after the Third Reich. Berendt's powerful role as the West German Jazz Pope is explored, as is the groundswell of criticism directed at him in the wake of 1968.

Illustrations
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations

Introduction

PART I: JOACHIM-ERNST BERENDT AND THE POSTWAR LEGITIMATION OF JAZZ

Chapter 1.Jazz and the divide between serious and entertainment music
Chapter 2.Dance as escape?
Chapter 3.Jazz greetings to and from the East?
Chapter 4.Jazz, race, and colourblindness

PART II: JAZZ MEETS THE (NEW) OLD WORLD: EUROPEANIZING JAZZ

Chapter 5.The blues of German jazz
Chapter 6.Emancipation and the dilemma ofVolk-jazz
Chapter 7.Globe Unity: Free jazz meets European New Music
Chapter 8.Emancipation from the Jazz Pope
Chapter 9.On the uses of European jazz

PART III: JAZZ MEETS THE OTHER WORLD