ABSTRACT
Although the black roots of jazz were increasingly recognized in Britain by 1930, and the music was acclaimed and condemned as a result; in practical terms, black musicians were generally under-represented in Britain in both live and recorded performance. After the controversial plantation revues discussed in Chapter 7, black music theatre productions such as Blackbirds, which made a significant impression on Spike Hughes, Constant Lambert and Evelyn Waugh amongst many others, remained a constant presence. A succession of black bands including those led by Sam Wooding, Leon Abbey and Noble Sissle visited Britain. Although this ensured the continued representation of black music, these performers functioned primarily as novelties in the theatre or dance hall and often provided entertainment that often served to perpetuate racial stereotypes that were unhelpful to the serious appreciation of jazz. It is not surprising that such stereotypes and particularly the discourse of primitivism continued to remain relevant in the reception of black performance in the 1930s.
