Panassié, Hugues. (1912-1974) . "La Vraie Histoire du Jazz" - Autograph Book Manuscript.
Autograph manuscript of the influential French critic, historian, and record producer's book Histoire du vrai jazz (Robert Laffont, 1959), under its previous title of La Vraie Histoire du Jazz. Approx. 620 pp., of which 12 are typewritten with corrections, in 16 heavy paper folders, inside a very handsome custom archival box designed to resemble a parcel bound with string. 9 x 4 x 11.5 inches (23 x 10 x 29 cm). One dent and light shelf wear to the box; some light toning and foxing to the manuscript leaves; overall in fine condition.
Panassié traces the evolution of jazz, from its origins in New Orleans to the 1950's. A short introduction explains (translated from the French): "Why 'true'? Because so many articles and books have been written confusing authentic jazz with false jazz, and relating the history of jazz so inexactly, that it is important to get things straight. This book is not about the history of what too many badly-informed people believe to be jazz, which has only the most superficial connection to the music, but rather the history of true jazz, the music of black Americans. [...] Jazz is the musical language of another race. We others, whites, can understand it, even speak it, provided that we take pains to learn it, to assimilate ourselves. It was through contact with black people that I learned what real jazz is. My conception of jazz is theirs..." Throughout the manuscript, corrections and changes have been made to the text, frequently including alternate titles for the chapters. The first page shows several possible variations on the book's title: "Histoire du vrai jazz," "La veritable histoire du jazz," and "La vraie histoire du jazz." Each chapter's folder includes a small covering leaf in another hand, summarizing the chapter.
The work comprises the following chapters: I. Les Origines du Jazz; II. Naissance du jazz à la Nouvelle-Orléans; III. Où l'on voit le jazz grandir [several other possible titles struck through]; IV. Chicago; V. Louis Armstrong; VI. Harlem; VII. Duke Ellington; VIII. Les années 1930-1936; IX. La période swing ou L'ère du swing; X. et XI. La Période Swing (II) et (III); XII. Le Be-bop n'est pas du jazz; XIII Renaissance Nouvelle-Orléans; XIV. Le jazz en France (partially typed); XV. Le Jazz des années 1950 ["Le Jazz d'aujourd'hui" struck through].
An important manuscript from the the founding president of the Hot Club de France (1932), the man almost solely responsible for bringing jazz to France. In a changing world of jazz, Panassié was an ardent exponent of traditional jazz — strictly Dixieland — and famously dismissed bebop as "a form of music distinct from jazz." He harbored a particular love of style similar to that of Louis Armstrong from the 1930s and criticized West Coast jazz as inauthentic, partly because most musicians were white and also "sounded white." Despite his traditionalist views on the art form, his influence on the reception of jazz in France, and in shaping the cross-cultural dialogue between American and French musicians, cannot be overstated.
Panassié, Hugues. (1912-1974) . "La Vraie Histoire du Jazz" - Autograph Book Manuscript.
Autograph manuscript of the influential French critic, historian, and record producer's book Histoire du vrai jazz (Robert Laffont, 1959), under its previous title of La Vraie Histoire du Jazz. Approx. 620 pp., of which 12 are typewritten with corrections, in 16 heavy paper folders, inside a very handsome custom archival box designed to resemble a parcel bound with string. 9 x 4 x 11.5 inches (23 x 10 x 29 cm). One dent and light shelf wear to the box; some light toning and foxing to the manuscript leaves; overall in fine condition.
Panassié traces the evolution of jazz, from its origins in New Orleans to the 1950's. A short introduction explains (translated from the French): "Why 'true'? Because so many articles and books have been written confusing authentic jazz with false jazz, and relating the history of jazz so inexactly, that it is important to get things straight. This book is not about the history of what too many badly-informed people believe to be jazz, which has only the most superficial connection to the music, but rather the history of true jazz, the music of black Americans. [...] Jazz is the musical language of another race. We others, whites, can understand it, even speak it, provided that we take pains to learn it, to assimilate ourselves. It was through contact with black people that I learned what real jazz is. My conception of jazz is theirs..." Throughout the manuscript, corrections and changes have been made to the text, frequently including alternate titles for the chapters. The first page shows several possible variations on the book's title: "Histoire du vrai jazz," "La veritable histoire du jazz," and "La vraie histoire du jazz." Each chapter's folder includes a small covering leaf in another hand, summarizing the chapter.
The work comprises the following chapters: I. Les Origines du Jazz; II. Naissance du jazz à la Nouvelle-Orléans; III. Où l'on voit le jazz grandir [several other possible titles struck through]; IV. Chicago; V. Louis Armstrong; VI. Harlem; VII. Duke Ellington; VIII. Les années 1930-1936; IX. La période swing ou L'ère du swing; X. et XI. La Période Swing (II) et (III); XII. Le Be-bop n'est pas du jazz; XIII Renaissance Nouvelle-Orléans; XIV. Le jazz en France (partially typed); XV. Le Jazz des années 1950 ["Le Jazz d'aujourd'hui" struck through].
An important manuscript from the the founding president of the Hot Club de France (1932), the man almost solely responsible for bringing jazz to France. In a changing world of jazz, Panassié was an ardent exponent of traditional jazz — strictly Dixieland — and famously dismissed bebop as "a form of music distinct from jazz." He harbored a particular love of style similar to that of Louis Armstrong from the 1930s and criticized West Coast jazz as inauthentic, partly because most musicians were white and also "sounded white." Despite his traditionalist views on the art form, his influence on the reception of jazz in France, and in shaping the cross-cultural dialogue between American and French musicians, cannot be overstated.