A Century Of Jazz [Paperback]

Roy Carr (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 21, 1997

A Century of Jazz is the first-ever chronicle of the major influence in western music this century. Organized by year, style, and place, it is supplemented with special features on subjects relevant to each period. Making deliberate reference to popular music in general, where jazz has always been a strong influence, the book covers not only major jazz cult artists including Armstrong, Parker, and Coltrane, but also crossover figures such as Crosby, Glenn Miller, Sinatra, and George Benson, broadening its appeal beyond jazz connoisseurs to all music fans. A Century of Jazz is richly illustrated with a wealth of rare images and graphic material, plus the work of major jazz photographers such as Herman Leonard, Bob Willoughby, and Val Wilmer, and it includes contributions by such notable jazz writers as Fred Dellar, Brian Case, Richard Cook, and Neil Slaven. Featuring a sumptuous full-color layout and authoritative, entertaining writing, it is the definitive illustrated celebration of jazz history, jazz people, and jazz style.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Carr is an energetic and knowledgeable writer, and the book is peppered with lingo and little-known facts. Tracing the music's history from post-Civil War New Orleans to postmodern acid jazz, Carr provides an authoritative account of the music, a rare thing in such a lavishly illustrated volume. Carr is particularly good on topics that are too often ignored by jazz writers, such as the importance of European jazz and the development of jazz-rock fusion in the 1970s. Purists may balk at the space Carr devotes to some of these more ephemeral subjects, but they are undeniably part of the music's bountiful tradition and have grown even more important to the story since hip-hop "rediscovered" jazz in the '90s.... I would be surprised if even the most devoted students of the music had seen many of these photos before; Carr and his team have done a first-rate job in tracking down images that are as absorbing as the writing itself. -- The Los Angeles Times Sunday Book Review, Marc Carnegie

About the Author

Leading a team of major jazz writers, Roy Carr, award-winning New York Times best-selling author, broadcaster, and record producer, is executive editor for IPC Magazine’s music titles (Melody Maker, New Musical Express, and Vox). Among the many books published under his name is the co-authored seminal style bible The Hip: Hipsters, Jazz & the Beat Generation, and he also compiled/annotated numerous albums for Blue Note, Chess, Pacific Jazz, Riverside, Savoy, and other labels.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (August 21, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306807785
• ISBN-13: 978-0306807787
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 9.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,031,736 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A jazzy Book of Jazz, March 6, 2002

By 

Seraphim V. Molina (Riverdale, MD United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Century Of Jazz (Paperback)

The medium is the message! Start with the heft of the volume. And there you have a sense of jazz's musical and historical weight on America and the world (at least Europe, and a tiny tiny sprinkling of the Latin American and Carribean...But where is the rest of the world, Carr? Say, Japan. Or isnt that jazz?).
The splahing color and gloss and newsy trivia spread all over the book can only highlight the fact that improvisation makes more beautiful and glorious not only the melody and tempo but also a historical (or book) account of jazz. Really, a century of jazz does not have to deal with the dry history, or a scholarly exposition, or even a musical theory of such an enchanting thing like jazz...About jazz? It is enough to hear its throbbing colors, see its haunting sax and mid-night whispers...and smell that ubiquitous cigarette smoke (I dont like that part really but soemtimes you cant have a choice of your uncles and aunts). Get this book for the necessary info and history, for the thrill and romance of jazz.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Blue Is My Love, February 19, 2007

By 

Skylark Poems "the round & wagging dance" (of a summer) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Century of Jazz (Paperback)

I bought this for myself as a 60th birthday present. I grew up listening to Benny Goodman, the Dorsey brothers and Glenn Miller since this is what my parents played on the phonograph. The first album I bought for myself was Muted Jazz by Jonah Jones who played with Cab Calloway. Jonah passed away in 2000 and I was disappointed not to find him here though he may be hiding somewhere, since there is no index. If you are like me and enjoy sitting and musing over what was, this is the book for you. The second album I bought for myself was Time Out by Dave Brubeck; a bit about him in there, but I'm not a snob like many who criticize Dave, and I loved all those old artists: Louie Bellson, Dexter Gordon, Cannonball Adderly, but I ramble.

The best thing about this book is all the great album art and statements by the artists themselves. . .and the memories.