038 Mike Smith on Popular 60s Jazz

On this episode, Marc talks with Mike Smith, author of “In With The In Crowd: Popular Jazz in 1960s Black America,” published in May of 2024. Smith argues that most studies of 60s jazz focus on the avant-garde centered around John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Albert Ayler, and more, and he sets out to balance that with a history of the more popular jazz artists from that decade, such as Eddie Harris, Nancy Wilson, and Ramsey Lewis, showing how their music also influenced the form and culture of jazz.

As Mike writes, “There was an infrastructure that allowed jazz to thrive in the sixties because jazz, for many, was a moneymaker. It wasn’t just the music of protest; it wasn’t just the music that spoke to feelings of rage, anger, and resentment. Jazz could be all of those things, but it was also so much more.”

We hope you enjoy Marc's conversation with Mike Smith!