We are currently raising the first generation in human history whose primary mode of experiencing the world is mediated through a glass screen. From the age of four through early adulthood, many children spend more time interacting with pixels than with nature, tactile materials, or live human ensembles.

The 1930s and 1940s represent a watershed moment in American musical history, a period when African American musicians fundamentally reimagined the possibilities of both jazz and classical music. While the Great Depression cast its shadow across the nation, and the world hurtled toward and through the Second World War, a remarkable generation of Black artists was crafting a sonic revolution that would reverberate through the remainder of the twentieth century and into our present day.

Edmond Dédé In the vast tapestry of American musical history, some figures shine brightly while others remain in the shadows, their...