Early Twentieth-century Brass Idioms ─ Art, Jazz, and Other Popular Traditions

Weiner, a trombonist and coeditor of the Historic Brass Society Journal, brings together 13 papers from the proceedings of an international conference of the same name presented by the Institute of Jazz Studies of Rutgers U. and the Historic Brass Society, held in November 2005. Jazz and brass scholars and performers, who are based in the US and Europe, focus on the contributions brass performers made to the development of jazz in the early twentieth century and the influence of jazz and popular music on the evolution of brass performance. They discuss the Italian jazz trumpet style, klezmer music, New Orleans brass bands, the origins of jazz improvisation, and musicians like Louis Armstrong, Buddy Bolden, Bunk Johnson, King Oliver, James Reese Europe, and Newell "Spiegle" Wilcox. Interviews with jazz trumpeters William Fielder and Joe Wilder, and a chapter on practicing by performer and teacher Jimmy Owens, are included. Annotation c2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Howard T. Weiner is a freelance trombonist and translator and is co-editor of the Historic Brass Society Journal. He has published editions of music for trombone, as well as articles on the history of the trombone in the Historic Brass Society Journal, Brass Bulletin, and The Trombonist.