ch. 1. Gumbo : beginnings to 1907 --
ch. 2. The gift : 1907-1917 --
ch. 3. The jazz age : 1917-1924 --
Freedom of expression with a groove : an interview with Wynton Marsalis --
ch. 4. Our language : 1925-1929 --
ch. 5. Hard, hard times : 1929-1935 --
Reminiscing in tempo / by Dan Morgenstern --
ch. 6. The velocity of celebration : 1936-1939 --
ch. 7. Dedicated to chaos : 1940-1945 --
White noise and white knights : some thoughts on race, jazz, and the white jazz musician / by Gerald Early --
ch. 8. Risk : 1945-1950 --
Extreme jazz : the avant-garde / by Gary Giddins --
ch. 9. The adventure : 1950-1960 --
The presence is always the point / by Stanley Crouch --
ch. 10. A masterpiece by midnight : 1960 to the present.