Paul Lopes is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Tufts University, Massachusetts. He was Director of the Communications and Media Studies Program at Tufts from 1994 to 2001. He also is a saxophonist who has played in jazz, reggae and rock groups.

• Introduction: the quest for cultural legitimacy; 1. Before the jazz age: professional musicians and good music; 2. The jazz age: professional musicians and the cultivated vernacular; 3. The swing craze: professional musicians, swing music and the art of improvisation; 4. The rise of a jazz art world: jazz enthusiasts, professional musicians and the modernist revolt; 5. The new jazz age: the jazz art world and the modern jazz renaissance; Conclusion: the jazz art world and American culture.

"Lopes has written a richly informative and highly readable book that is a welcome addition to the growing number of academic studies that engage with musical styles as the lifeblood of 'scenes' -- living cultures producing a verve and commitment that remain hard to fathom for those on the 'outside.'" American Journal of Sociology