In Chicago Jazz, William Howland Kenny offers a wide-ranging look at jazz in the Windy City, revealing how Chicago became the major centre for jazz in the 1920s, one of the most vital periods in the history of the music. He describes how the migration of blacks from the South to Chicago before and after World War I set the stage for the development of jazz in Chicago, and how nightclubs and cabarets became the social setting for aficionados and musicians,
black and white.

In an examination of such well known greats as Louis Armstrong and King Oliver, Kenney sheds new light on the musical and cultural context in which jazz developed. And he travels beyond the South Side of Chicago to examine the evolution of white jazz and the influence of the South Side school on young players.

Drawing on the personal recollections of many who experienced the influence of the Jazz Age. as well as historical texts, Kenney presents a new interpretation of Chicago Jazz that shows the influence of race, culture, and politics on its development.