A Night in Tunisia

In this ground-breaking study, poet and critic Norman Weinstein reveals a long-neglected thread running throughout jazz history, spotlighting Africa-inspired recordings of 13 major musicians.

---

This is a study of the Afrocentric imagination set to a jazzy beat. The African connection to jazz through recordings has never been fully analyzed until now. In this ground-breaking study, poet and critic Norman Weinstein reveals a long-neglected thread running throughout jazz history. Spotlighting the African-inspired recordings of thirteen major musicians—Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, John Coltrane, George Russell, John Carter, Count Ossie, Randy Weston, Max Roach, Pierre Dorge, Archie Shepp, Yusef Lateef, Sunny Murray, and Ronald Shannon Jackson—he also offers a comprehensive discography cataloging the recordings of hundreds more. A Night in Tunisia illuminates the affection, humor, concern, curiosity, anger, and pride toward Africa that jazz artists have manifested in their recordings.