Teofilo Espada-Brignoni's book is a thorough and illuminating work that employs a Foucaultian approach to study how early jazz musicians depict their identities through autobiographical narratives. It deconstructs and problematizes the very notion of “authenticity” by looking at the diverse ways in which selves are narratively constructed. By so doing, the author shows how self is defined by a complex interplay of individual, social, political and racial issues: thus, “authenticity” is a social construct by which African-American jazz musicians make sense of themselves and their place within their community and the American society. The book will appeal to scholars in different fields such as social psychology, discourse analysis, sociology, and jazz studies.

Sergio Pasquandrea, University of Perugia

Authenticity--a loaded term at best--is almost as difficult a term to define as jazz itself, but Espada-Brignoni teases out the many meanings of the term and its important function in the creation of jazz narrative and identity. This book is notable for its theoretical foundation, but it is also important for its focus on oft-overlooked musicians such as Baby Dodds and Lee Collins. The Performance of Authenticity is a crucial addition to the body of literature on jazz autobiography.

Sarah Caissie Provost, University of North Florida