The second edition of Christopher
Ballantine’s classic Marabi nights -
Jazz, ‘race’ and society presents a fascinating view of the marabi jazz
tradition in South African popular music to a new generation of music fans and
scholars of cultural studies, politics and music.
Based on conversations with legendary
figures in the world of music as well as a perceptive reading of music, its
socio-political history and social meanings, Ballantine’s project is one of
sensitive and impassioned curatorship. An accompanying CD of recordings from
the 1930s and 1940s yields almost forgotten treasures. A selection of archival
images gives the narrative further resonance.
The second edition contains a new chapter
on the Manhattan Brothers and singing groups’ adaptation of the American close
harmony tradition. Through the prism of popular music, the new edition also
goes further in its discussion of gender in the context
of forced migrant labour in the 1950s.
Christopher Ballantine is Professor of
Music Emeritus at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, and a Fellow of the
University. He is rated an “Internationally Acclaimed Researcher” by South
Africa's National Research Foundation.
An author of three books (Marabi Nights: Early South African Jazz
and Vaudeville; Music and its Social
Meanings; and Twentieth Century
Symphony), numerous chapters in books and articles in leading journals,
Chris Ballantine's publications cover a wide range of issues in the fields of
musicology, the sociology of music, popular music studies, and ethnomusicology.
He is also active as a music critic, contributing reviews of live performances
and recordings to publications such as the London-based monthlies Opera and the
International Record Review.
Marabi
Nights is published in soft cover by the University
of KwaZulu-Natal Press. ISBN 978 1 86914
237 7 Price R255.
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