Though the Blue Devils were on the scene in various forms from 1923 to 1933, the legacy of this fascinating jazz band has been largely overlooked. Together they were a seminal band and individuals who played with them—including trumpeter Oran “Hot Lips” Page, saxophonist Lester “Prez” Young, bandleader Count Basie, and writer Ralph Ellison (when he was a teenager)—went on to become celebrated artists of the twentieth century. Now, utilizing personal interviews, government records, and lively newspaper accounts of various performances, cultural historian Douglas Henry Daniels explains the importance of the band to both the individual musicians and the larger American cultural landscape.
“Daniels gives the Blue Devils their rightful place in jazz history by putting into perspective the role of Oklahoma City as an urban jazz center, proving that jazz writing can be extremely effective when it concentrates on the interplay between community history and musicians’ lives.” —Joseph McLaren, author of Langston Hughes: Folk Dramatist in the Protest Tradition
“By selecting one of the most unforgettable bands and by writing about it thoroughly, Douglas Daniels has given us—ironically—the best general book ever written about jazz history and culture.” —Cecil Brown, author of Stagolee Shot Billy
Douglas Henry Daniels is professor of black studies and history at the University of California at Santa Barbara. He is the author of Lester Leaps In and Pioneer Urbanites: A Social and Cultural History of Black San Francisco. He lives in Santa Barbara.
