This chapter follows the bachata from its earliest beginnings in Dominican Republic to its current position on the global stage, specifically investigating what happens when a music – made by and for local, rural audiences – crosses geographic borders and is suddenly performed by and for global, urban audiences; and what occurs when a music traditionally tied to place-specific experiences suddenly assumes contrasting positions of meaning.

This chapter introduces kokomakaku, a stickfight ritual from the Dutch island of Curaçao. Documenting its evolution and development, the chapter shows how music can be used to reconstruct a possible historical, social and cultural timeline of an island. Kokomakaku embodies the cultural encounters and conflicts that mark Curaçao’s past and present, its development, likewise, representing localised struggles for status and self-definition.

This chapter introduces the Big Drum through narratives of ‘return’ exploring the ritual as a medium for activating ancestral memories and crafting New World belonging. It is told through the works of two women—Lorna McDaniel and Zakia Sewell. Their works depict and speak to different Big Drum accounts of ’homecoming’, including the ritual’s promise of ancestral return.

This chapter examines the role of competition in Rara celebrations in Haiti. Rara, a Lenten religious festival that features marching bands and Vodou rituals, has a complex relationship with competition, which is unpacked in this chapter. As is argued, by investigating conflict and cooperation as dimensions of competition, it is possible to understand how Haitians navigate the complex social terrain of Rara using both confrontational and collaborative techniques.

This chapter introduces the Tambú, from Curaçao, and follows its resettlement in the Netherlands, where it is celebrated as a party attended a variety of immigrants, each searching for a sense of community; a space for sharing common experiences of marginalisation and discrimination. Through the theory of ‘interpretive diasporas’, the chapter insists on the necessity for a plurality of approaches to thinking about diaspora and belonging.

Shipton decribes his first visit to New Orleans in 1976, hearing such locals as Kid Thomas's band at Preservation Hall, but also encountering such musical giants as Charles Mingus during the city's Jazz and Heritage Festival. He sits in with local bands and is mentored by the drummers Chester Jones and Freddie Kohlman, ending up playing often with Kohlman on his subsequent visits to Europe. He discusses the style and instruments of traditional bass players including Slow Drag Pavageau, Chester Zardis and Frank Fields. Some of the female pioneers of jazz are discussed including Sweet Emma Barrett, Sadie Goodson and Jeanette Kimball. The chapter concludes with a memory of pianist Don Ewell.

Roy Haynes is a fascinating musician in that he straddles the swing and bebop genres, yet remaining totally sui generis. This candid interview with Roy follows his career from swing big bands to the small groups of Charlie Parker and beyond, to his work with John Coltrane. He also discusses his latterday tribute to Parker, Birds of a Feather, with Kenny Garrett, Roy Hargrove, Dave Kikowski and Dave Holland.

Al Casey talks about his work independently from Fats Waller, including his love for other guitarists such as Django Reinhardt and Charlie Christian. He talks about working with pianist Art Tatum, an experience shared with bassist Truck Parham. Casey then goes on to describe his trio which accompanied Billie Holiday and others who worked with her add their experiences, including Doc Cheatham and Mal Waldron. There follows a dicsussion of Teddy Wilson's short-lived big band that worked at the Golden Gate in New York, analysing its press coverage and why it ultimately failed. The chapter finished with Truck Parham's vivid memory of the death of bandleader Jimmie Lunceford (who will be referred to numerous times in later chapters) as the result of a racist incident in a restaurant.

In the foreword, Shipton sets out his approach of using multiple oral history sources to explore such topics as Duke Ellington's Orchestra, the Oscar Peterson Trio, and the role of the swing vocalist. He discusses such source material as interviews with Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown and Ed Thigpen, as well as with Clark Terry, Louie Bellson and Jimmy Woode. He pays attention to such female vocalists as Jewel Brown and Carmen Bradford. He then locates the book in terms of his own historical research, and ways in which a white European writer can approach African American music.

The core of this chapter is the general acceptance that Ellington's appearance at Newport in 1956 somehow 'relaunched' the Ellington band. With contributions from those who were there, Shipton re-explores both the Newport myth and re-examines the early 1950s output of the band. He looks at its Carnegie Hall concerts, discusses the line up when Willie Smith, Juan Tizol and Louis Bellson joined from Harry James, and gives detailed examples of the music the band produced in its alleged 'shallow' period, prompting a re-examination of the clains made for the Newport appearance by producer George Avakian.