Accentuate the Negative? On Teaching Biographical Details in Jazz History

Jazz history professors and book authors may be prejudicing their students’ impressions of jazz by including negative biographical information about the major musicians. This author scrutinizes biographical presentations that are unnecessarily disparaging of the musicians, including too much data that is musically inconsequential. Some of these instances illustrate how the quality of recorded performances contradicts what would be expected after reading detailed accounts of a musician’s personal weaknesses. This author asks whether such details are detrimental to a balanced and respectful view of the musician’s historic musical contributions and stature. Authors and publishers of materials for introductory jazz courses are urged to consider the implications, and teachers are advised to be more mindful in selecting what they present in lectures, textbooks, and supplementary material.