The legacy of Black queer composer, arranger, and pianist Billy Strayhorn (1915–1967) hovers at the edge of canonical jazz narratives. Queer Arrangements explores the ways in which Strayhorn's identity as an openly gay Black jazz musician shaped his career, including the creative roles he could assume and the dynamics between himself and his collaborators, most famously Duke Ellington, but also iconic singers such as Lena Horne and Ella Fitzgerald. This new portrait of Strayhorn combines critical, historically-situated close readings of selected recordings, scores, and performances with biography and cultural theory to pursue alternative interpretive jazz possibilities, Black queer historical routes, and sounds. By looking at jazz history through the instrument(s) of Strayhorn's queer arrangements, this book sheds new light on his music and on jazz collaboration at midcentury.
"Lisa Barg's Queer Arrangements: Billy Strayhorn and Midcentury Jazz Collaboration (Wesleyan University Press, 2023) represents LGBTQ+ scholarship at it's finest. Barg takes us on a kaleidoscopic journey through the life and music of Billy Strayhorn, using a creative and playful approach to the archive. This book offers a beautifully written musical biography of an out, black, queer musician and a
Honorable Mention for the 2025 Woody Guthrie Award (IASPM)
"Queer Arrangements brings fascinating archival and biographical details about Strayhorn's life into dialogue with queer studies by making visible connections that... enlarges our understating of the immeasurably complex worlds in which jazz musicians move."
Jennifer Messelink
"What makes this study great is Barg's masterful use of critical analysis to spotlight Strayhorn's work outside of Ellington's domineering shadow... If your collection is looking to add new works to round out sections on composer biographies, then Barg and Farina's books are highly recommended."
