Introduction

Abstract

The introduction argues that one of the most significant and enduring changes in jazz during the 1950s was the practice of record making. To support this assertion, this introduction takes several approaches. It outlines the genesis of the long-playing (LP) format and discusses record production in the pre-LP era. It explores why a cultural history of the jazz LP must attend to Black jazz musicians and their work to redefine notions of Black expertise, Black labor, and Black capital in the early Cold War era. Finally, it outlines four interrelated frameworks that define the book’s overall approach: (1) the contestations over recording format, (2) the reorientation of race within the record business, (3) the creation of new forms of technological mediation, and (4) the codification of jazz’s historical narrative. A summary of each chapter is included.