Jazz: A Quarterly of American Music
- Place of Publication: Berkeley, CA
- Language: English
- Date of Publication: 1958-1959
- Periodicity: 5 nos., quarterly
- Editor: Ralph J. Gleason
- Publishers: Jazz Publications
- Type: Full Text
Jazz: A Quarterly of American Music was both Ralph J. Gleason’s revival of his first jazz journal, Jazz Information (New York, 1939-1941) and an attempt to publish a journal which approached jazz as a serious art form. As noted by Gleason in an editorial note in the first issue, he initially approached Nat Hentoff and Martin Williams in New York, along with Ross Russell in Boston but Gleason found partners in Berkeley who helped realize the journal. As such, Jazz was established nearly concurrently with Hentoff’s and Williams’ The Jazz Review. Although both journals were published along similar editorial lines, Gleason’s Jazz published only five issues.
The first issue of Jazz was quite impressive: the Boston critic George Frazier on jazz criticism and critics, Studs Terkel on Big Bill Broonzy, Ron Riddle on the Lenox (Massachusetts) jazz school, book reviews by Louis Gottlieb and Philip Elwood, Larry Gushee on recent Charles Mingus albums, Albert J. MacCarthy on jazz in England, in addition to record reviews. Later issues featured writings by Duke Ellington, Henry Pleasants, André Hodeir, Wendell Otey, Ralph Berton, Ira Gitler, John Hammond, Roman Waschko from Poland, Larry Austin, Leonard Feather, Helen McNamara from Toronto, Charles Edward Smith, and Frank Kofsky. Unfortunately, Gleason’s call for more manuscript submissions in the fifth issue was apparently unsuccessful. Jazz: A Quarterly of American Music was effectively overtaken by The Jazz Review which would continue until 1961.