1908 - 1966
Marshall Winslow Stearns (1908-1966)
was an important American jazz critic and musicologist. He is considered one of the first serious academic researchers of jazz. Stearns studied at Harvard University and Yale University. He was a professor of English literature before devoting himself intensively to jazz research.
Pioneer of jazz research
Stearns played a key role in establishing jazz as a serious field of study in the academic world. In 1952, he founded the Institute of Jazz Studies (IJS), initially in his own home in Greenwich Village, New York. This institution, which later moved to Rutgers University, now houses one of the world's most important collections of jazz-related materials, including recordings, books, magazines, manuscripts, and much more.
Writer and critic
Stearns wrote about jazz for numerous magazines and trade journals, including Variety, Saturday Review, Down Beat, The Record Changer, Esquire, Harper's, Life, and Musical America.
Teaching
He taught at the New School for Social Research (1954–1961) and at the School of Jazz in Lenox, Massachusetts.
Personal
Stearns was married twice. His second wife, Jean Barnett Stearns, was an important collaborator in his research, particularly in the field of jazz dance.
Significant publications
The Story of Jazz (1956)
This book is considered one of the first comprehensive and academically sound works on the history of jazz. It traces the development of jazz from its African and European roots in New Orleans to the modern forms of bebop and Afro-Cuban jazz. It was influential both in academic circles and among the general public.
Jazz Dance - The Story of American Vernacular Dance (1968, postum with Jean Stearns)
This work is a groundbreaking study of the history of American vernacular dance, which is closely linked to the development of jazz. It highlights the social, cultural, and musical influences on dance forms such as swing, Lindy Hop, and others.
Significance for jazz research
Marshall Stearns made an invaluable contribution to establishing jazz research as a legitimate and important field of musicology and cultural history. By founding the Institute of Jazz Studies, he created a center for the collection and study of jazz materials. His groundbreaking books contributed significantly to promoting the understanding and appreciation of jazz among the general public and in academic circles. In his work, he often emphasized the connection between music and the social and cultural contexts from which it emerged. Stearns died on December 18, 1966, in Key West, Florida. His legacy lives on in his research, his writings, and the Institute of Jazz Studies he founded.
Stearns invited Mahalia Jackson to come to the Music Inn in Lenox to introduce gospel music to musicologists. Upon her arrival at the Music Inn, she was greeted by Marshall Stearns and John Hammond.
In his book “The Story of Jazz,” Marshall Stearns wrote that Mahalia Jackson
“creates an almost unbroken wall of blue tonality” and that she “breaks every rule of concert singing,” but her “emotional and expressive singing at full voice is seraphic.” He also quoted a member of the Sanctified Church as saying:
“Mahalia, she adds more flowers and feathers than anyone else, and they're all just right.”
In August 1951, Stearns took part in a panel discussion entitled “Definitions in Jazz” at the Music Inn, together with Mahalia Jackson, Mildred Falls, Dennis Strong, John Mehegan, Richard Waterman, John Hammond, and Willis James. He dedicated the first pages of his book The Story of Jazz to Mahalia Jackson.