This book is the definitive history of the origins, progress, influence and decline of the big jazz bands in the United States with a sideglance at their history in other parts of the world. It mentions well over 550 bands, dealing critically as well as historically and biographically with the famous and prolific. The book also discusses the entertainment industry in general: radio, the dancehall network, the recording business. It describes the complex relationship of the black musicians to their white counterparts and to white audience