Into the Between

“Into the Between” explores the strategies adopted by New Orleans jazz musicians to negotiate sound in various urban situations, ranging from dance halls and riverboats to streetscapes, and how technological change affected their calculations in producing an essentially participatory sound. The author traces the ways that early musicians adapted elements of African and European musical traditions to contemporary settings, audiences and instrumentation, relying on improvisation to create unique and evolving soundscapes, including brass bands and New Orleans’ second lines.