Do You Know...?: The Jazz Repertoire in Action

Do You Know...?: The Jazz Repertoire in Action examines how jazz musicians learn, maintain, and perform their extensive repertoire of songs. Through interviews and observations, sociologist Howard Becker and pianist Robert Faulkner document the ways performers navigate music selection and performance in real-world settings. The book centers on jazz musicians in the commercial scene who play at events like weddings and parties, where they must be ready to perform hundreds of songs on demand. Becker and Faulkner explore how these musicians develop their musical knowledge, communicate with each other during performances, and handle requests from audiences. The authors draw from their own experiences as working musicians to analyze the social and professional dynamics of jazz performance. Their research spans multiple decades and locations, from Massachusetts to California, providing insight into how the jazz repertoire functions across different contexts. The work reveals broader patterns about professional expertise, collective memory, and the relationship between formal and informal knowledge in specialized communities. Through the lens of jazz musicians, it raises questions about how groups maintain and transmit cultural information.

This appears to be a niche academic book with very limited public reviews available online. Readers who commented appreciated: - The authors' firsthand knowledge of jazz performance and music scenes - Clear explanations of how jazz musicians select and learn repertoire - Insights into the social dynamics between musicians and audiences Main criticisms: - Writing style can be overly academic and dense - Limited scope focusing mainly on Chicago jazz scenes - Some found the methodology descriptions too lengthy Available Ratings: Goodreads: 3.67/5 (3 ratings, 0 written reviews) No ratings found on Amazon or other major review sites The book seems to be primarily used in academic settings, with most discussion occurring in scholarly reviews rather than consumer platforms. Several academic journal reviews noted its value for ethnomusicology and sociology students but questioned its appeal to general readers.

Art Worlds by Howard S. Becker A sociological examination of how artists work within collaborative networks to produce and distribute their art.

The Real World of Technology by Ursula Franklin An analysis of how technology shapes social practices and hierarchies in music and other creative fields.

Music in Everyday Life by Tia DeNora A study of how music operates as a social force in different contexts and environments.

The Cultural Study of Music by Martin Clayton, Trevor Herbert, and Richard Middleton An investigation into how musicians create meaning through performance and interaction within cultural frameworks.

Making Music Together by Alfred Schutz A phenomenological exploration of how musicians coordinate and create shared meaning during performance.

🎷 Howard Becker learned to play jazz piano professionally in Chicago during the 1940s while simultaneously pursuing his sociology degree, giving him unique insider-outsider perspective on jazz culture. 🎵 The book reveals how jazz musicians often learn their repertoire not through formal training, but through a complex social network of sharing, listening, and on-the-job experience. 🎹 Many of the observations in the book come from Becker's real experiences playing in jazz clubs between 1949 and 1955, when he worked as a professional musician to fund his graduate studies. 🎼 The research shows that jazz musicians often know hundreds or even thousands of songs, but this knowledge is typically situation-specific and varies greatly depending on their regular performance venues and audience expectations. 🎺 The title "Do You Know...?" refers to the common question musicians ask each other about knowing specific tunes, which Becker identifies as a crucial social ritual in jazz culture that helps establish professional connections and repertoire sharing.