20 Best Books On Jazz History (2023 Update)

Continuing in the tradition of the civil war and baseball, burns and ward look into the heart and soul of america to explore the history of a quintessentially american music jazz. through words and photos, readers meet louis armstrong, duke ellington, billie holiday, benny goodman, ella fitzgerald, and a host of other jazz greats in this magnificent companion to the 19-hour pbs series. 500+ photos.

The art of jazz explores how the expressionism and spontaneity of jazz spilled onto its album art, posters, and promotional photography, and even inspired standalone works of fine art.everyone knows jazz is on the cutting edge of music, but how much do you know about its influence in the visual arts? with album covers that took inspiration from the avant-garde, jazz's primarily african american musicians and their producers sought to challenge and inspire listeners both musically and visually.arranged chronologically, each chapter covers a key period in jazz history, from the earliest days of the twentieth century to today's postmodern jazz. chapters begin with substantive introductions and present the evolution of jazz imagery in all its forms, mirroring the shifting nature of the music itself. with two authoritative features per chapter and over 300 images, the art of jazz is a significant contribution to the literature of this intrepid art form.

The richest place in america's musical landscape is that fertile ground occupied by jazz. scott deveaux takes a central chapter in the history of jazz—the birth of bebop—and shows how our contemporary ideas of this uniquely american art form flow from that pivotal moment. at the same time, he provides an extraordinary view of the united states in the decades just prior to the civil rights movement. deveaux begins with an examination of the swing era, focusing particularly on the position of african american musicians. he highlights the role played by tenor saxophonist coleman hawkins, a "progressive" committed to a vision in which black jazz musicians would find a place in the world commensurate with their skills. he then looks at the young musicians of the early 1940s, including charlie parker, dizzy gillespie, and thelonious monk, and links issues within the jazz world to other developments on the american scene, including the turmoil during world war ii and the pervasive racism of the period. throughout, deveaux places musicians within the context of their professional world, paying close attention to the challenges of making a living as well as of making good music. he shows that bebop was simultaneously an artistic movement, an ideological statement, and a commercial phenomenon. in drawing from the rich oral histories that a living tradition provides, deveaux's book resonates with the narratives of individual lives. while the birth of bebop is a study in american cultural history and a critical musical inquiry, it is also a fitting homage to bebop and to those who made it possible.

"as you read, light bulbs switch on: that's what was going when she recorded that; now i can see where he got that sound."–la weekly43 jazz conversations – miles davis, gil evans, dizzy gillespie, jon hendricks, max roach, betty carter, jackie mc – lean, don cherry, sonny rollins, mc – coy tyner, archie shepp, herbie hancock, tony williams, keith jarrett, wynton marsalis, and jack de – johnette-these are just a few of the jazz musicians whose conversations with ben sidran are recorded in this volume. in stimulating, personal, and informative discussions, they not only reveal their personalities, but also detail aspects of the performance, technique, business, history, and emotions of jazz. newly expanded with previously unpublished dialogues with david murray, dr. john, and mose allison, talking jazz is undoubtedly the best oral history of recent and contemporary jazz.

Do you want to know when duke ellington was king of the cotton club? have you ever wondered how old miles davis was when he got his first trumpet? from birth dates to gig dates and from recordings to television specials, leonard feather and ira gitler have left no stone unturned in their quest for accurate, detailed information on the careers of 3.300 jazz musicians from around the world. jazz is fast moving, and this edition clearly and concisely maps out an often dizzying web of professional associations. louis teenager he encountered charlie parker and dizzy gillespie for the first time. this meeting proved fateful, and by 1945 a nineteen-year-old davis had left juilliard to play with parker on 52nd street. knowledge of these professional alliances, along with the countless others chronicled in this book, are central to tracing the development of significant jazz movements, such as the "cool jazz" that became one of miles davis's hallmarks.arranged alphabetically according to last name, each entry of this book chronologically lists the highlights of every jazz musician's career. highly accessible and vigorously researched, the biographical encyclopedia of jazz is, quite simply, the most comprehensive jazz encyclopedia available.

Bands and blues: the ultimate, evocative jazz-trip through time in 1960, photographer william claxton and noted musicologist joachim berendt traveled the united states hot on the trail of jazz. through music halls and marching bands, side streets and subways, they sought to document this living, breathing, beating musical phenomenon that enraptured america across social, economic, and racial lines. the result of claxton and berendt's collaboration was jazzlife, much sought after by collectors and now revived in this fresh taschen volume. from coast to coast, from unknown street performers to legends of the genre, this defining jazz journey explores just what made up this most original of american art forms. in new orleans and new york, in st. louis, biloxi, jackson, and beyond, claxton's rapturous yet tender images and accompanying texts examine jazz's regional diversity as much as its pervasive vitality and soul. they show the music makers and the many spaces and people this music touched, from funeral parades to concert stages, from an elderly trumpet player to kids who hung from windows to catch a glimpse of a passing band. with images of charlie parker, count basie, duke ellington, muddy waters, gabor szabo, dave brubeck, stan getz, billie holiday, ella fitzgerald, miles davis, charles mingus, thelonious monk, john coltrane, and many more, this is as much a compelling slice of history as it is a loving personal tribute. text in english, french, and german

"a must-read for all dancers as the invaluable historical references and in-depth coverage of the different jazz forms cannot be found in such detail in any other book on the market today."-debra mcwaters, author of musical theatre training "artfully weaves history and professional perspectives to reveal the boundaries of the jazz dance world. it invites the reader to develop a more complicated definition of jazz dance for the twenty-first century."-susan a. lee, northwestern university the history of jazz dance is best understood by thinking of it as a tree. its trunk is vernacular, shaped by european influence, and exemplified by the charleston and the lindy hop. from the vernacular have grown many and varied branches, including tap, broadway, funk, hip-hop, afro-caribbean, latin, pop, club jazz, popping, b-boying, party dances, and more. unique in its focus on history rather than technique, jazz dance offers the only overview of trends and developments since 1960. editors lindsay guarino and wendy oliver have assembled an array of seasoned practitioners and scholars who trace the numerous histories of jazz dance and examine various aspects of the field, including trends, influences, training, race, aesthetics, international appeal, and its relationship to tap, rock, indie, black concert dance, and latin dance. featuring discussions of such dancers and choreographers as bob fosse and katherine dunham, as well as analyses of how the form's vocabulary differs from ballet, this complex and compelling history captures the very essence of jazz dance. lindsay guarino, an active dancer and choreographer, is assistant professor of dance at salve regina university and serves as the artistic director of extensions dance company. wendy oliver, professor of dance at providence college and past winner of the national dance association scholar/artist award, is the author of writing about dance.

A one-of-a-kind book encompassing a wide scope of jazz topics, for beginners and pros of any instrument. a three-pronged approach was envisioned with the creation of this comprehensive resource: as an encyclopedia for ready reference, as a thorough methodology for the student, and as a workbook for the classroom, complete with ample exercises and conceptual discussion. includes the basics of intervals, jazz harmony, scales and modes, ii-v-i cadences. for harmony, it covers: harmonic analysis, piano voicings and voice leading; modulations and modal interchange, and reharmonization. for performance, it takes players through: jazz piano comping, jazz tune forms, arranging techniques, improvisation, traditional jazz fundamentals, practice techniques, and much more! here is a typical reader comment: "the book's approach is so intuitive, it almost leads you by the hand into the world of jazz. certainly jazz is freedom of expression, but you have to know what you're doing and this book is the tool for that … (it) should be standard in every high school with a jazz program and every college lab band."

As musicians, listeners, and scholars have sensed for many years, the story of jazz is more than a history of the music. burton peretti presents a fascinating account of how the racial and cultural dynamics of american cities created the music, life, and business that was jazz. from its origins in the jook joints of sharecroppers and the streets and dance halls of 1890s new orleans, through its later metamorphoses in the cities of the north, peretti charts the life of jazz culture to the eve of bebop and world war ii. in the course of those fifty years, jazz was the story of players who made the transition from childhood spasm bands to carnegie hall and worldwide touring and fame. it became the music of the twenties, a decade of prohibition, of adolescent discontent, of harlem pride, and of americans hoping to preserve cultural traditions in an urban, commercial age. and jazz was where black and white musicians performed together, as uneasy partners, in the big bands of artie shaw and benny goodman. "blacks fought back by using jazz", states peretti, "with its unique cultural and intellectual properties, to prove, assess, and evade the "dynamic of minstrelsy". drawing on newspaper reports of the times and on the firsthand testimony of more than seventy prominent musicians and singers (among them benny carter, bud freeman, kid ory, and mary lou williams), the creation of jazz is the first comprehensive analysis of the role of early jazz in american social history.

"may be the best book ever written about jazz."—david thomson, los angeles timesin eight poetically charged vignettes, geoff dyer skillfully evokes the music and the men who shaped modern jazz. drawing on photos, anecdotes, and, most important, the way he hears the music, dyer imaginatively reconstructs scenes from the embattled lives of some of the greats: lester young fading away in a hotel room; charles mingus storming down the streets of new york on a too-small bicycle; thelonious monk creating his own private language on the piano. however, music is the driving force of but beautiful, and wildly metaphoric prose that mirrors the quirks, eccentricity, and brilliance of each musician's style.

Ted gioia's history of jazz has been universally hailed as a classic–acclaimed by jazz critics and fans around the world. now gioia brings his magnificent work completely up-to-date, drawing on the latest research and revisiting virtually every aspect of the music, past and present.gioia tells the story of jazz as it had never been told before, in a book that brilliantly portrays the legendary jazz players, the breakthrough styles, and the world in which it evolved. here are the giants of jazz and the great moments of jazz history–jelly roll morton, louis armstrong, duke ellington at the cotton club, cool jazz greats such as gerry mulligan, stan getz, and lester young, charlie parker and dizzy gillespie's advocacy of modern jazz in the 1940s, miles davis's 1955 performance at the newport jazz festival, ornette coleman's experiments with atonality, pat metheny's visionary extension of jazz-rock fusion, the contemporary sounds of wynton marsalis, and the post-modernists of the current day. gioia provides the reader with lively portraits of these and many other great musicians, intertwined with vibrant commentary on the music they created. he also evokes the many worlds of jazz, taking the reader to the swamp lands of the mississippi delta, the bawdy houses of new orleans, the rent parties of harlem, the speakeasies of chicago during the jazz age, the after hours spots of corrupt kansas city, the cotton club, the savoy, and the other locales where the history of jazz was made. and as he traces the spread of this protean form, gioia provides much insight into the social context in which the music was born.

Ted gioia's history of jazz has been universally hailed as a classic–acclaimed by jazz critics and fans around the world. now gioia brings his magnificent work completely up-to-date, drawing on the latest research and revisiting virtually every aspect of the music, past and present.gioia tells the story of jazz as it had never been told before, in a book that brilliantly portrays the legendary jazz players, the breakthrough styles, and the world in which it evolved. here are the giants of jazz and the great moments of jazz history–jelly roll morton, louis armstrong, duke ellington at the cotton club, cool jazz greats such as gerry mulligan, stan getz, and lester young, charlie parker and dizzy gillespie's advocacy of modern jazz in the 1940s, miles davis's 1955 performance at the newport jazz festival, ornette coleman's experiments with atonality, pat metheny's visionary extension of jazz-rock fusion, the contemporary sounds of wynton marsalis, and the post-modernists of the current day. gioia provides the reader with lively portraits of these and many other great musicians, intertwined with vibrant commentary on the music they created. he also evokes the many worlds of jazz, taking the reader to the swamp lands of the mississippi delta, the bawdy houses of new orleans, the rent parties of harlem, the speakeasies of chicago during the jazz age, the after hours spots of corrupt kansas city, the cotton club, the savoy, and the other locales where the history of jazz was made. and as he traces the spread of this protean form, gioia provides much insight into the social context in which the music was born.

When most people think of detroit and music, they think of the motown sound. but what many people forget is that detroit has a remarkable jazz history, which became a major influence in what came to be known as the motown sound. it shows the significant impact detroit has had on the development of jazz in america, with its own sound, distinct from that of the other jazz centers of chicago, new orleans, st. louis, or kansas city. starting with the big bands in the 1920s, with groups like the mc – kinney's cotton pickers and jean goldkette's orchestra, and continuing into the 1950s, detroit experienced a golden age of modern jazz centered around clubs like the blue bird inn. that jazz scene comes alive in interviews with musicians and club owners, combined with unique period photographs and advertisements. in addition, detroit's vital jazz scene is placed in its social context, particularly within the changing relations between blacks and whites at the time. – long overdue, before motown tells the story of detroit jazz as it really happened, told by the people who lived it. more importantly, it shows how life can mirror art in the most pragmatic of american cities, detroit. – lars bjorn is professor of sociology, university of michigan, dearborn, and the author of numerous articles and publications about jazz. jim gallert is vice president of the jazz alliance of michigan and a veteran jazz broadcaster. he has been involved with the detroit jazz scene for over twenty-five years.

This text presents all of the materials commonly used by the jazz musician in a logical order dictated both by complexity and need. the book is not intended to be either an arranging or improvisation text, but a pedagogical reference providing the information musicians need to pursue any activity they wish.

New york times bestselling music is history combines questlove's deep musical expertise with his curiosity about history, examining america over the past fifty years–now in paperback focusing on the years 1971 to the present, questlove finds the hidden connections in the american tapes, whether investigating how the blaxploitation era reshaped black identity or considering the way disco took an assembly-line approach to black genius. and these critical inquiries are complemented by his own memories as a music fan and the way his appetite for pop culture taught him about america. a history of the last half-century and an intimate conversation with one of music's most influential and original voices, music is history is a singular look at contemporary america.

With traditions, records, and lore, this lively, detailed book explores the personalities, events, and facts every jazz fan should know. it contains crucial information such as important dates, behind-the-scenes tales, memorable moments, and outstanding achievements by players like john stockton, karl malone, mehmet okur, and adrian dantley. whether you're a lifelong supporter from the early days in salt lake city or a more recent fan, this is the ultimate resource guide for all jazz faithful.

Why jazz happened is the first comprehensive social history of jazz. it provides an intimate and compelling look at the many forces that shaped this most american of art forms and the many influences that gave rise to jazz’s post-war styles. rich with the voices of musicians, producers, promoters, and others on the scene during the decades following world war ii, this book views jazz’s evolution through the prism of technological advances, social transformations, changes in the law, economic trends, and much more. in an absorbing narrative enlivened by the commentary of key personalities, marc myers describes the myriad of events and trends that affected the music's evolution, among them, the american federation of musicians strike in the early 1940s, changes in radio and concert-promotion, the introduction of the long-playing record, the suburbanization of los angeles, the civil rights movement, the “british invasion” and the rise of electronic instruments. this groundbreaking book deepens our appreciation of this music by identifying many of the developments outside of jazz itself that contributed most to its texture, complexity, and growth.

The penguin guide to jazz recordings is firmly established as the world's leading guide to recorded jazz, a mine of fascinating information and a source of insightful – often wittily trenchant – criticism. this is something rather different: brian morton (who taught american history at uea) has picked out the 1000 best recordings that all jazz fans should have and shows how they tell the history of the music and with it the history of the twentieth century. he has completely revised his and richard cook's entries and reassessed each artist's entry for this book. the result is an endlessly browsable companion that will prove required reading for aficionados and jazz novices alike.' it's the kind of book that you'll yank off the shelf to look up a quick fact and still be reading two hours later' fortune'part jazz history, part jazz karma sutra with cook and morton as the knowledgeable, urbane, wise and witty guides … this is one of the great books of recorded jazz; the other guides don't come close' irish times

The first and only history of jazz based on actual available recordings as well as a listeners' guide to building a jazz record collection.

The first and only history of jazz based on actual available recordings as well as a listeners' guide to building a jazz record collection.