Made in America for the world

Avant-garde responses to jazz

Abstract

JED RASULA (University of Georgia) / Made in America for the World. Avant-Garde responses to Jazz

The article is a selective survey of responses to American jazz by various figures associated with the avant-garde during the 1920s, the decade in which jazz had its initial global impact. As the article indicates, “jazz” was a somewhat free floating signifier, particularly for those who had not experienced the music in person. Yet it was widely understood as an American harbinger of modernity, and embraced as such.