Detroit has always been at the forefront of American popular music development, and the ragtime years and jazz age are no exception. The city s long history of diversity has served the region well, providing a fertile environment for creating and nurturing some of Americäs most distinctly indigenous music. With a focus on the people and places that made Detroit a major contributor to Americäs rich musical heritage, Detroit: Ragtime and the Jazz Age provides a unique photo journal of a period stretching from the Civil War to the diminishing years of the big bands in the early 1940s.

Drawing on his experience as a pianist, historian, and lecturer concentrated on ragtime and early jazz, Detroit-based journalist Jon Milan provides a rare look at this important period in the city s musical heritage. For the first time, this book brings together photographs, postcards, and artifacts from the author s collection, many private collections, and materials from the E. Azalia Hackley and Burton Historical Collections of the Detroit Public Library, opening a long-lost window on an important period in the history of Detroit and its role in the development of American music.