The Lenox School of Jazz: A Vital Chapter in the History of American Music and Race Relations [first edition]

This book tells the story of a remarkable institution in rural Massachusetts that was graced by the presence of some of the most important stars of the jazz world: Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, John Lewis, Dave Brubeck, Bill Evans, and many others. The Lenox School of Jazz was an outgrowth of the Music Inn and became one of the most important centers of jazz performance and education in the country. Running only from 1957 to 1960 and only in the summers, the Lenox School of Jazz created history. It also marked one of the first places in the United States where African Americans were the teachers, leaders, and icons, passing on a tradition of jazz performance to mostly white students.