The Imperfect Art: Reflections on Jazz and Modern Culture (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780195063288)

Taking a wide-ranging approach rare in jazz criticism, Ted Gioia's brilliant volume draws upon fields as disparate as literary criticism, art history, sociology, and aesthetic philosophy in order to place jazz within the turbulent cultural environment of the twentieth century. He argues that because improvisation--the essence of jazz--must often fail under the pressure of on-the-spot creativity, we should view jazz as an "imperfect art" and base our judgments of it on an "aesthetics of imperfection."

Incorporating the thought of such seminal thinkers as Walter Benjamin, José Ortega y Gasset, and Roland Barthes, The Imperfect Art offers vivid portraits of the giants of jazz and startling insights into this vital musical form and the interaction of society and art.

Author: Ted Gioia
ISBN-10: 0195063287
ISBN-13: 9780195063288
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Language: English
Published: 07/19/1990
Pages: 160
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.66lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.18w x 0.49d

Review Citation(s):
Booklist 04/15/1992 pg. 1510