Harlem nights : the secret history of Australia's Jazz Age / Deirdre O'Connell
- Bib ID:
- 8663528
- Format:
- Book
- Author:
- O'Connell, Deirdre, author
- Online Access:
- National edeposit
- Related Online Resources:
- Thumbnail
- Access Conditions:
- National edeposit: Available online
- Description:
-
- Carlton, Victoria : Melbourne University Press, 2021
- 1 online resource.
- File Characteristics:
- text file EPUB 5.3MB
- ISBN:
-
- 0522877656
- 9780522877656
- Summary:
-
"The 1920s were a time of wonder and flux, when Australians sensed a world growing smaller, turning faster--and, for some, skittering off balance. American movies, music and dance brought together what racial lines kept apart. A spirit of youthful rebellion collided with the promise of racial perfectibility, stirring deep anxieties in white nationalists and moral reformers. African-American jazz represented the type of modernism that cosmopolitan Australians craved--and the champions of White Australia feared. Enter Sonny Clay's Colored Idea. Snuck in under the wire by an astute promoter, the Harlem-style revue broke from the usual blackface minstrel fare, delivering sophisticated, liberating rhythms. The story of their Australian tour is a tale of conspiracy--a secret plan to kick out and keep out 'undesirable' expressions of modernism, music and race. From the wild jazz clubs of Prohibition-era LA to Indigenous women discovering a new world of black resistance, this anatomy of a scandal-fuelled frame-up brings into focus a vibrant cast of characters from Australia's Jazz Age"--OverDrive.
- Full contents:
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- Prologue : the frame-up
- Tijuana nights in Phoenix and Los Angeles. The education of Sonny Clay ; Independence Day ; Across the River Styx : Sonny Clay's Tijuana ; South Central Avenue, Los Angeles ; The lost angels
- In California with Harry Muller. The best box office judge in Australia ; The real Charleston ; Testing the waters
- Rattlin' fine Sydney. My blue heaven ; The jazzing spheres ; A comparative vacation ; American boomerang
- Views of commonwealth policy. Major Lloyd's investigation branch ; The 'black menace' ; Synchronising operations
- The making of modern Melbourne. The Carlyon touch ; A sterling advertisement for Australian girlhood ; Miss 1928 ; Jazz night
- Keeping orchestras British. Cecil Trevelyan's questions of principle ; War on American players
- Petty sessions. Constable Saker tells the truth ; Women who bite policemen ; Silk petticoats and mauve pyjamas ; Tooth and law
- Idle and disorderly. The eight hour day ; A young woman in trouble ; Judicial theatre ; A captive audience
- Unwritten law. The Sydney express ; British justice ; Citizen soldier ; The character test
- Purification rites. Storm centre ; This bit of earth ; Fit for the task ; Saving Edna Langdon
- On their way. The non-stop endurance dance record ; Sailaway streamers
- The quarantine blues. Shake it and break it and let it fall ; What now? ; Bagging the cat.
- Notes:
-
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
- Online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on November 10, 2021)
- Subject:
-
- Clay, Sonny, 1899-1973
- Jazz -- Australia -- Melbourne (Vic.) -- History and criticism
- Jazz -- Australia -- Sydney (N.S.W.) -- History and criticism
- Music and race -- Australia -- History -- 20th century
- Nineteen twenties
- Australian history
- HISTORY / Australia & New Zealand
- Jazz
- Music and race
- Race relations
- Melbourne (Vic.) -- Race relations -- History -- 20th century
- Sydney (N.S.W.) -- Race relations -- History -- 20th century
- Australia
- New South Wales -- Sydney
- Victoria -- Melbourne
- Genre/Form:
- Copyright:
-
In Copyright
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Copyright status was determined using the following information:
- Material type:
- Literary, dramatic or musical work
- Published status:
- Published
- Publication date:
- 2021
Copyright status may not be correct if data in the record is incomplete or inaccurate. Other access conditions may also apply. For more information please see: Copyright in library collections.