Gigs : jazz and the cabaret laws in New York City /

From 1926 until 1990 various city regulations known as "cabaret laws" restricted the performance of music in New York City's restaurants and clubs by dictating where live music could be played, the number and type of instruments allowed, and even who could play. Ostensibly intended to protect neighborhoods from the noise, traffic, and undesirable elements assumed to be associated with certain kinds of nightlife, the laws had the effect of preventing reputable small jazz clubs from offering the music their patrons wanted and of keeping highly regarded musicians like Billie Holiday, who was denied a cabaret card after a narcotics conviction, from performing in their natural environment. This book is an account of the eventually successful effort to have the regulations overturned. Chevigny (law, New York University) is author of two previous books on civil liberties as well as a jazz enthusiast; he was himself a pivotal figure in the overturning process, having helped lead the legal battle. Still, his account is objective and thorough and places the issue in the broader contexts of New York's zoning policies and the stifling of artistic expression. As the issues are complex and difficult, Chevigny's discussion of them is appropriately serious and erudite. This is a stimulating work for both general and academic readers at all levels who are interested in jazz, the law, or urban social policy.-A. D. Franklin, Winthrop College

Chevigny, an attorney and former civil rights activist, recounts his successful efforts to repeal New York's ``cabaret laws,'' which restricted jazz entertainment from 1926 to 1990. The laws limited where jazz could be played, as well as the sizes of the bands and the kinds of instruments used in bars and restaurants. Chevigny argued that the laws, ostensibly designed to control noise and traffic, discriminated against minority groups and denied musicians' First Amendment rights. Since the subject is entertainment law, the reading is technical, and will interest only specialists.-- Paul Baker, CUNA Inc., Madison, Wis. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.