The untold story of race and power in Australia's Jazz Age.
The 1920s were a time of wonder and flux, when Australians sensed a world growing smaller, turning faster-and, for some, skittering off balance. American movies, music and dance brought together what racial lines kept apart. A spirit of youthful rebellion collided with the promise of racial perfectibility, stirring deep anxieties in white nationalists and moral reformers. African-American jazz represented the type of modernism that cosmopolitan Australians craved-and the champions of White Australia feared.
Enter Sonny Clay's Colored Idea. Snuck in under the wire by an astute promoter, the Harlem-style revue broke from the usual blackface minstrel fare, delivering sophisticated, liberating rhythms. The story of their Australian tour is a tale of conspiracy-a secret plan to kick out and keep out 'undesirable' expressions of modernism, music and race. From the wild jazz clubs of Prohibition-era LA to Indigenous women discovering a new world of black resistance, this anatomy of a scandal-fuelled frame-up brings into focus a vibrant cast of characters from Australia's Jazz Age.
By:
Deirdre O'Connell Imprint: MELBOURNE UNIVERSITY PRES Country of Publication: Australia Dimensions:
Height: 233mm,
Width: 154mm,
Spine: 25mm
Weight: 622g ISBN:9780522877649 ISBN 10: 0522877648 Pages: 256 Publication Date:03 November 2021 Audience:
General/trade
,
ELT Advanced
Format:Paperback Publisher's Status: Active
Deirdre O'Connell is a historian, teacher and author of The Ballad of Blind Tom. She has a background in environmental journalism and music documentary and lives in the Blue Mountains on Gundungurra land.