Based on more than twenty years of interviews and first-hand knowledge of the people featured in Jazz Gentry, this factual account of the years between World Wars I and II explores the era that saw the development of a number of exceptional breakthroughs in popular entertainment—the popularity of ballroom dancing; the introduction of phonograph records, sound movies, and radio; the evolution of the American stage musical; and the increase of sophistication and quality of popular songs.

These are the stories of the men and women who took part in making the era what it was and lived through the excitement of the pioneering years, when they, the century, and the world of entertainment were young. A living history of American popular music, the book profiles those musicians and entertainers who reached the top of their professions and made substantial contributions to it, without necessarily becoming household names. Author and musician Vaché chronicles, often for the first time, many of the important figures of this vital and vibrant period in American music and entertainment.

Vaché has compiled a compelling story of American jazz and popular music, told first-hand by the subjects of his interviews. As the twentieth century draws to a close, it becomes even more important to have the recollections of those who made it what it was.