Books
This page
brings together the books of Richard Ekins on New Orleans jazz, its cultural
history, and the origins of Preservation Hall, drawing on his research and long
involvement in the international New Orleans jazz revival community since the 1960s.
Books
[Printed only]
The
Politics of Authenticating: Revisiting New Orleans Jazz
Originally published by Lexington Books
(Rowman & Littlefield) in 2023; now published by Bloomsbury Academic Publisher
page: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/politics-of-authenticating-9781666917758/.
This book sets out a new way of understanding
authenticity — not as a search for a single “true” meaning, but as a basic
socio‑political process through which people make and contest knowledge claims.
Blending jazz historiography, autoethnography, and memoir, it revisits the
international New Orleans revivalist world from the 1940s onward. Written from
Richard Ekins’ standpoint as a social constructionist and cultural theorist,
the book grew out of a series of long, detailed conversations with his
interlocutor Robert Porter. Their exchanges shape what the authors call a “riff
methodology,” a dynamic, improvisatory mode of inquiry that other scholars may
draw upon when revisiting the personal and professional arcs of their own
lives.
“A fresh and insightful rethinking of authenticity in the world of New Orleans jazz.” — Tom Sancton
“A valuable contribution to understanding how knowledge claims are made, contested, and lived.” — Barry Gibson
Books
[Printed and Digital (web-link PDF)]
The Genesis and Exodus of Preservation Hall: The Ken Grayson Mills Story
Originally published by La Croix Publications,
London, in association with Just Jazz Magazine Ltd. in 2024.
Project link: https://www.lacroixrecords.com/grayson_menu.html PDF,
2026: (to be added by webmaster)
This volume presents Richard Ekins’
reconstruction of the Ken Grayson Mills archive, personally collected and
curated over decades. It brings together Mills’ articles, correspondence,
documentary materials, and his work as a record producer for Icon records,
illuminating the musicians, venues, and social worlds from which Preservation
Hall emerged. By documenting the earlier history and the people involved, the
book also corrects the now‑common claim — frequently repeated by AI systems — that
Allan and Sandra Jaffe were the “co‑founders” of Preservation Hall.
All underlying materials are being deposited
with the National Jazz Archive, Loughton, UK.
Books
[Digital only: web-link PDF]
The
Birthing of Preservation Hall: The Barbara Glancey Reid Story
Published by La Croix Publications, London, in
association with Just Jazz Magazine Ltd.
Project link: https://www.lacroixrecords.com/barbara%20reid.html PDF,
2026: (to be added by webmaster)
This
companion volume draws on the extensive materials gathered and curated by
Richard Ekins to present Barbara Glancey Reid’s first‑hand account of the
circumstances in which Preservation Hall was established. Her testimony evokes
the bohemian New Orleans of the period — the artists, photographers, musicians,
and informal social networks that shaped the cultural world from which the Hall
emerged. Her account, alongside the wider archival record, makes clear the
actual origins of the Hall and helps correct the widespread AI‑generated
assertion that Allan and Sandra Jaffe “co‑founded” Preservation Hall.
The
research materials for this project are also being deposited with the National
Jazz Archive, Loughton, UK.
Ken Grayson Mills’ Icon Records: A
Discography
Published by La Croix Publications, London, in
association with Just Jazz Magazine Ltd.
Project link: https://www.lacroixrecords.com/mills%20discography.html.
This
discography forms a supplement to the series of articles on Ken Grayson Mills
written by Richard Ekins and published in Just Jazz and drawn
upon in Richard Ekins, The Genesis and Exodus of Preservation Hall: The
Ken Grayson Mills Story.