Books in the Jazz Under State Socialism series

Jazz has never been simply music. From its very inception, jazz has been imbued with social meaning. This is what makes this kind of music an interesting field of study not only for the music historian, but also for the sociologist and the cultural historian. This title deals with this music.

Jazz brought challenges in the areas of racial issues, the politics of the Cold War between East and West, and in the exploration of boundaries of artistic freedom. This volume deals with the impact of these changes on the career development of jazz musicians - even beyond 1989 - in terms of various phenomena.

This book studies the different roles that jazz played in Poland in the course of the 20th century. Igor Pietraszewski, sociologist and jazz musician, depicts how jazz was forbidden under Stalin, accepted and even supported in the Polish People's Republic and then welcomed in the open market of the Third Republic.

During the Cold War, jazz became a cultural weapon that was employed by both sides. In the Eastern Bloc countries, new jazz scenes emerged. This volume explores the history and roles of jazz in Poland, the German Democratic Republic (GDR), Czechoslovakia, Hungary, the Soviet Union, and the Baltic States by means of several case studies.