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

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