Michael C. Heller is an ethnomusicologist, music historian, and Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Pittsburgh.

"[Heller] paints a kaleidoscopic portrait... inherently fascinating." The Wire "Heller - through dozens of interviews and painstaking research that included full access to the ample personal archive of percussionist Juma Sultan, a pivotal figure in the movement - refreshingly moves beyond reductionist notions." Village Voice "Using interviews and archival research, Michael G. Heller examines the scene's rise and eventual fall from historical, pedagogical and sociological perspectives... [He] itemizes what differentiated Loft Jazz from other styles and how its creation, dissemination and demise affected innovative jazz." The New York City Jazz Record

• List of Illustrations and Table 1. Fragmented Memories and Activist Archives PART ONE: HISTORIES2. Influences, Antecedents, Early Engagements 3. The Jazz Loft Era PART TWO: TRAJECTORIES4. Freedom 5. Community 6. Space 7. Archive 8. Aftermaths and Legacies Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography Index