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Circular Breathing: The Cultural Politics of Jazz in Britain.

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Circular Breathing: The Cultural Politics of Jazz in Britain. By George McKay. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2005. [xiv, 357 p. ISBN 0-8223-3573-5. $22.95.] Index, bibliography, illustrations.

George McKay has two aims for this book: 1) "to consider African American jazz music as an export culture," (p. ix) and, 2) to explore "the ways the cultures of jazz have been used or understood by musicians, critics, and enthusiasts, as well as by its enemies, in British social and political realms" (p. x). His primary interest is not in the music itself, but, rather, the nature of the cultural statement that was intended by the music's founders, and the adoption of jazz in Great Britain by those who used it as a vehicle for social activism and political change. The book is driven by McKay's conviction that jazz is a highly political music and his steadfast refusal to view jazz as pure musical practice. "Frankly, I see nothing but worry in the effort to depoliticize the musical scene. My aim ... throughout the book ... is precisely to challenge such an interpretation" (p. 241).

And challenge it he does. Circular Breathing is painstakingly well documented with copious references, including a myriad of personal interviews with activists, musicians, and fans. Through this long journey, many fascinating stories and unexpected facts are revealed, while a host of questions, contradictions, and paradoxes are explored. For starters, McKay finds the international nature...

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