URL: http://library.spokanefalls.edu/guides/jazz.stm
Last modified: Thursday, January 13, 2005.

The Jazz Age

Introduction

Jazz music has been called America's most significant cultural contribution to the world. One can better understand jazz as a musical force by exploring the social, historical, and cultural milieu in which it originated and developed.

This Web page is intended as a guide to:

Finding books
Finding magazine & journal articles
Finding Web sites
Citing information in a paper

Finding books & videos

The Library's online catalog lists books, videos, magazines, journals, and other items available at the SFCC or SCC. You can search by author, title, or subject. The keyword option is particularly useful if you aren't sure of a title or the exact Library of Congress subject heading.

Potentially useful headings include:

If the book you want is only available at SCC's library, you can request it. Courier service between campuses is fast and efficient for items that aren't already checked out. Items requested from SCC can generally be delivered to the SFCC circulation desk overnight (except on Fridays, with delivery on Monday).

Reference sources

Also consider general reference works on music, American history, and literature, the most current of which are often located in the Reference stacks on the first floor of the Library. While these items are generally unavailable to be checked out, you are welcome to photocopy from them. You may also wish to browse similar call numbers in the second floor stacks to find sources which can be checked out.

Ref 780.3 NEW GRO	New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians 2nd ed.
Ref 780.922 BAKERS	Bakers Biographical Dictionary of Musicians 9th ed.
Ref 780.922 So88B	Biographical Dictionary of Afro-American & African Musicians
Ref 781.5709 OLIVER	Gospel, Blues, & Jazz
Ref 781.6403 GUINNESS	Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music
Ref 781.643 MUSICHO	MusicHound Blues: the Essential Album Guide
Ref 781.65 BLACKWE	Blackwell Guide to Recorded Jazz 2nd. ed.
Ref 781.6502 MUSICHO	MusicHound Jazz: the Essential Album Guide
Ref 781.6503 NEW GRO	New Grove Dictionary of Jazz 2nd ed.
Ref 781.6509 FEATHER	Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz
Ref 781.773 N42	New Grove Dictionary of American Music

Newspapers, Magazines, and Scholarly Journals

Daily newspapers aren't usually scholarly resources, but they can be valuable for documenting local stories and the local effects of national or international events. The SFCC Library subscribes to a variety of newspapers. Paper copies are only kept for one to two months, but older articles can sometimes be found online through services such as ProQuest Direct (see below). Newspapers on microfilm are kept behind the Reference Desk.

Journals and Magazines

To find articles in magazines and scholarly research journals, you can browse current and back issues. However, it is more efficient to use an index. We recommend

ProQuest Direct http://library.spokanefalls.edu/_auth/journal.asp: This is our best general purpose index for a broad range of articles from 1980-present; the full text of some articles is provided online. This index is available from any campus computer; students who have Internet access from home can use this index with a current student ID number. See below for tips on searching ProQuest.
Electric Library http://library.spokanefalls.edu/_auth/journal.asp: Electric Library is aimed at K-12 students, teachers, and parents. It provides full-text articles from magazines and newspapers, book excerpts, and transcripts of selected television broadcasts. Content is rated by "reading level." Look for the "BigChalk Special Report: America's Tragedy" button at the top of the main page.

Improving your ProQuest search

A basic search in ProQuest searches article titles, subject headings, and article descriptions for the key words you enter. You almost always get decent results as long as you don't enter too many key words. You can search more precisely, however, using standardized subject or name headings. For example, try entering any of the following, exactly as shown:

NAME(Ellington Duke)
SUB(jazz)
GEO(United States)

If you want to narrow your search, you can combine these. For example:

NAME(Ellington Duke) and SUB(jazz)

Locating magazines in the library

The most recent two or three issues of periodicals are kept on the open shelves next to the reference desk. Older issues are in storage; ask for them at the circulation desk.

World Wide Web Resources

The World Wide Web is increasingly useful for scholarly research, as long as you use it with caution.

Try to identify stable, reputable sources. Start with ones we have already selected for you (listed below). If you want to search the Web yourself, here is an excellent site which recommends various search tools for different purposes:

Choose the Best Search Engine for Your Information Needs: http://www.noodletools.com/debbie/literacies/information/5locate/adviceengine.html

General information on search strategies is available at

"Why Can't I Find Anything I Want on the Internet?": http://GeorgeSuttle.com/teaching/websearching/

Most of the sites recommended for you are listed in the weekly sections below. First, however, are some general sites that may be useful:

Jazz Histories & Definitions

Basic Elements of Jazz http://www.louisianamusic.org/NOJCC/basicelem.htm: A brief glossary from the New Orleans Jazz Centennial Celebration
A Great Day in Harlem http://www.harlem.org/: Web site to accompany the Academy-award winning documentary on jazz; one can browse by timeline, artist, instrument, or style
Jazz Roots: a History of Early Jazz http://www.jass.com/: Focuses on the first thirty years, and includes biographies, pictures, suggested recordings, etc.
Louis Armstrong Jazz Oral History Project http://www.nypl.org/research/sc/scl/MULTIMED/JAZZHIST/jazzhist.html: From the New York Public Library's Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
Mental illness 'at the root of jazz' http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health/newsid_1430000/1430337.stm
The Styles of Jazz http://www.wnur.org/jazz/styles/: A graphical chart of jazz styles derived from Joachim Berendt's The Jazz Book.
What is Jazz? http://town.hall.org/Archives/radio/Kennedy/Taylor/: Four hours of lectures and examples on jazz and jazz history by Dr. Billy Taylor, recorded live at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. You can listen to the entire lecture in various audio formats, or select the portions dealing with a particular artist or style.
History of Jazz http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/books/chap1/historyofjazz.htm: Lengthy article by Ted Gioia

Blues, Ragtime, and Other Jazz Influences

The King Of Ragtime Guitar: Blind Blake & His Piano-Sounding Guitar http://www.garlic.com/~tgracyk/blake1.htm: An interesting overview by Jas Obrecht.
How to Sing the Blues http://www.palindrome.org/misc/how-to-sing-blues.html: Very funny, and not really inaccurate
Inland Empire Blues Society http://www.ieblues.org/: "Blues in the Inland Northwest," courtesy of some of Spokane's finest

African-American History

Harlem 1900-1940: an African-American Community http://www.si.umich.edu/CHICO/Harlem/: An exhibition portfolio from the New York Public Library's Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
Research Resources for African-American History http://georgesuttle.com/teaching/AfricanAmericanHistory.shtml: A collection of Internet links and recommended books

Reading & Interpreting Literature

To write about literature, you need a specialized vocabulary including terms such as "plot," "setting," "theme," and "symbol." Poetry has additional terms for its distinctive features. (You will find that some literary terms also apply to music).

The following sites all contain lists of terms for literary analysis. When we use a term in class, we will define it for you, but you are encouraged to look up the definitions on the following pages.

Literary Analysis Terms http://www.southlakems.org/literaryanalysis_terms.htm: General vocabulary of Literary Analysis Terms used in analyzing fiction
Glossary of Literary Terms http://www.sifc.edu/english/WritersGuide/64WPGlossaryofLiteraryTerms.htm: This glossary includes fiction and poetic analysis terms (not all will be studied in the All That Jazz course)
Reading and Analyzing Poetry http://www.readingmatrix.com/reading/reading_literature.html#analyzing: Some helpful advice for analyzing poetry
A Vocabulary for Fiction and Beyond http://www.brainstorm-services.com/wcu/fiction-vocabulary.html: Useful list of terms related to the main elements of literature
Outline on Literary Elements http://www.cas.usf.edu/lis/lis6585/class/litelem.html: Another list for fiction analysis
Glossary of Literary Terms http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/literature/bedlit/glossary_a.htm
Flapper's Dictionary http://www.havemann.com/flappers_dictionary.html: a version recorded in 1922
How to Write Annotated Bibliographies http://www.mun.ca/library/research_help/qeii/annotated_bibl.html: A good overview, with examples of descriptive and critical annotations.
How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography http://www.library.cornell.edu/okuref/research/skill28.htm: Another good resource; the example here uses APA citation format, however, so be careful not to let it confuse you.
Process for Writing an Annotated Bibliography http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/research/annotated.html: Not all of of this site's information will be relevant to your needs, but it is another good source to consult.
Sample Annotated Bibliography http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/print/general/PDFs/gl_annotatedbibEX.pdf: All of the handouts from Purdue University's Online Writing Lab (OWL) are highly recommended. This one is in PDF format, so you'll need to have Acrobat Reader to view it.

Other Guides and Resources

Yahoo: Jazz: History http://dir.yahoo.com/Entertainment/Music/Genres/Jazz/History/: A collection of links (some annotated) to jazz history sites

How to cite sources in your paper

As with any other source you use, information found on Web sites must be cited and attributed. No one really agrees yet on the best method for citing electronic and Internet sources. The two most common citation styles--the Modern Language Association (MLA) and the American Psychological Association (APA)--have been modified and adapted to keep track of Internet sources:

MLA Style

Citing Sources: A collection of links, handouts, and class guides dealing with citing print and online sources in MLA style
Using Modern Language Association (MLA) Format: A good general purpose handout from Purdue's Online Writing Center (OWL)

APA Style

Electronic Reference Formats Recommended by the APA: http://www.apastyle.org/elecref.html
Using American Psychological Association (APA) Format: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_apa.html

For comments or questions about this page contact SFCC Reference Desk

URL: http://library.spokanefalls.edu/guides/jazz.stm
Last modified: Thursday, January 13, 2005.