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Democracy in Music : Louis Metcalf’s International Band and Montreal Jazz History
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Author/collaborator |
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Title |
Democracy in Music : Louis Metcalf’s International Band and Montreal Jazz History
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Abstract |
The author explores the politics of jazz in Montreal by looking at the arrival of American trumpeter Louis Metcalf (1905-1981) to the city in December 1946. The author points out that Metcalf quickly established the city’s first bebop band, consisting of seven musicians from different racial and ethnic backgrounds, and claimed that his group represented "democracy in music." The band became a sensation, making the Café Saint-Michel the hub of the jazz scene in the city for a few years, and was extensively discussed in both the city's Francophone and Anglophone press. Metcalf returned to New York City in 1951. After looking at the cultural scripts about jazz that prevailed in Quebec in the first half of the twentieth century, as well as the racially segregated world in which jazz musicians lived and worked, the author investigates the political vision of “democracy” – always tied to racial justice and internationalism – that Metcalf and his band came to represent. By looking at both Metcalf’s vision and its reception in Montreal, the author argues that jazz musicians need to be included in discussions about the new conceptions of democracy that emerged in the postwar world.
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Publication |
Canadian Historical Review
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Volume |
Vol. 100
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Issue |
no. 3
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Pages |
351-373
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Date |
September 2019
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Language |
en
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Citation |
Mills, Sean. “Democracy in Music : Louis Metcalf’s International Band and Montreal Jazz History.” Canadian Historical Review Vol. 100, no. 3 (September 2019): 351–373.
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