Black Music, White Business

Probes the conflicts between the artistry of Black musicians and the control by largely white-owned businesses of jazz distribution — the recording companies, booking agencies, festivals, clubs, and magazines.

“Each of these very well documented chapters shows how for more than twenty years the fate of a definitely revolutionary music was largely out of the hands of those who created it.” —Jazz Around

“Examines the contradiction in jazz that Blacks create the music but wealthy whites own it. The expropriation of the means of expression of a whole people—and its transformation into just one more commodity to accrue profit…is the key to understanding the ruthless exploitation of jazz and the musicians who create it.” —New Pittsburgh Courier

"The author sees John Coltrane and Malcolm X as the towering figures in this parallel and interconnected process and dedicates the book to their memory." —Ebony

“Kofsky lays into many well-known critics very hard indeed.” —Melody Maker

“An important acquisition, particularly for urban public libraries.” —Choice

“Kofsky's work demands answers to questions that pitifully few other jazz critics ever dare to ask… his prose is passionate, his intentions true, and the subject compelling.… The Marxist critiques of means of production, division of labor, and economic bottom lines suit the topic well.” —Counterpoise