Where the Dark and the Light Folks Meet tackles a controversial question: Is jazz the product of an insulated African-American environment, shut off from the rest of society by strictures of segregation and discrimination, or is it more properly understood as the juncture of a wide variety of influences under the broader umbrella of American culture? This book does not question that jazz was created and largely driven by African Americans, but rather posits that black culture has been more open to outside influences than most commentators are likely to admit. The majority of jazz writers, past and present, have embraced an exclusionary viewpoint. Where the Dark and the Light Folks Meet begins by looking at many of these writers, from the birth of jazz history up to the present day, to see how and why their views have strayed from the historical record. This book challenges many widely held beliefs regarding the history and nature of jazz in an attempt to free jazz of the socio-political baggage that has so encumbered it. The result is a truer appreciation of the music and a greater understanding of the positive influence racial interaction and jazz music have had on each other.

本書は、ジャズという芸術を隔離の産物ではなく、多様な文化が交差する豊穣な「接点」として再定義する、極めて挑戦的な野心作です。既存のジャズ批評が陥ってきた排他的な視点を鋭く批判し、黒人文化が本来持っていた「開かれた精神」を掘り起こす筆致は鮮やか。音楽史の書き換えであると同時に、芸術が持つ真の自由を奪還しようとする情熱に満ちています。 政治的な重荷から音楽を解放し、人種を越えたポジティブな交流に光を当てる考察は、読者の価値観を根底から揺さぶるでしょう。人種の壁を越えて響き合う音の中にこそ、真のアメリカ文化の美しさが宿っている。その事実を証明するプロセスはスリリングで、音楽の魂に触れたいと願う者に深い洞察を与えます。ジャズという奇跡の正体を知るための必読書です。