ABOUT THIS BOOK

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 a 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.

Composers featured: Michael Abels, H. Leslie Adams, Lettie Beckon Alston, Thomas J. Anderson, Dwight Andrews, Regina Harris Baiocchi, David Baker, William C. Banﬁeld, Ysaye Maria Barnwell, Billy Childs, Noel DaCosta, Anthony Davis, George Duke, Leslie Dunner, Donal Fox, Adolphus Hailstork, Jester Hairston, Herbie Hancock, Jonathan Holland, Anthony Kelley, Wendell Logan, Bobby McFerrin, Dorothy Rudd Moore, Jeffrey Mumford, Gary Powell Nash, Stephen Newby, Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, Michael Powell, Patrice Rushen, George Russell, Kevin Scott, Evelyn Simpson-Curenton, Hale Smith, Billy Taylor, Frederick C. Tillis, George Walker, James Kimo Williams, Julius Williams, Tony Williams, Olly Wilson, and Michael Woods

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

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.

REVIEWS

"If you are intrigued by the mystery of artistic creativity, this is your book. If you want to know where these musicians believe they stand among their white peers, read on. If you are curious about how non-commercial composers and performers thrive or survive in our warped economy, there is much here to consider." --On the Seawall

"Traversing a richly diverse gamut of Black culture and heritage across classical and jazz-- which many here agree is in effect ‘the classical music of America’—the crucial contribution of Black composers in and far beyond the US becomes clear. Wise, moving, and thought-provoking, it's a timely reiteration of the continued need for their wider acknowledgment." --BBC Music Magazine

“A valuable guide to the repertoire.”--Times Union

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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