Classic Jazz: The Musicians and Recordings That Shaped Jazz, 1895-1933 [Paperback]

Scott Yanow (Author)

Book Description

Series: Third Ear | Publication Date: December 1, 2001

Classic Jazz explores the birth and early development of a truly American art form. Scott Yanow's insightful essays describe the very beginnings of jazz, as well as ragtime, early blues, and New Orleans jazz from 1895-1916. Jazz in the years 1917-1933 is examined in greatest detail, highlighting the careers and rating the recordings of the top performers of the day. Musicians covered include: Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, Hoagy Carmichael, Bing Crosby, Tommy Dorsey, Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, Benny Goodman, Earl Hines, Gene Krupa, Glenn Miller, Jelly Roll Morton, Bessie Smith, Fats Waller and dozens more. Also includes a listing of recommended books and videos on classic jazz, and 40 black-and-white photos.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Busy author/critic Yanow here makes his fourth contribution to Backbeat's "Third Ear" series (after Swing, Bebop, and Afro-Cuban Jazz), and it's an engrossing contribution to jazz literature. A key component is Yanow's obvious enjoyment and knowledge of the music. He writes in a gentle, conversational style, never succumbing to needless technicalities or diatribes and treating all the musicians fairly. Long-held stereotypes are demolished, and, consequently, readers will gain new perspectives on the early jazz era. For instance, Yanow's undogmatic entry on Paul Whiteman clearly indicates the importance of the Whiteman orchestra in developing many master musicians during the late 1920s. After an opening essay on the origins of jazz (1895-1933), the alphabetically arranged artist biographies cover both legends like Louis Armstrong as well as relatively unknown performers. These entries include commentary on available recordings, mostly on CD, which truly demonstrate Yanow's grasp of jazz. In another essay at the back of the book, he highlights the value of several specialty labels (e.g., Classics, JSP) that intelligently reissue a great amount of classic jazz and lists numerous "various artists" CD suggestions as well as sources for further study. The proliferation of band names (often used for only one recording session) calls for a detailed index, and that's just what Yanow provides. One quirk, however: occasionally, musicians (e.g., the Dodd brothers) mentioned in someone else's entry lack an entry of their own. In the end, this guide stands strongly on its own, and, when combined with Yanow's other entries in the series, provides especially authoritative commentary on jazz. Recommended for public, academic, and music libraries. William G. Kenz, Minnesota State Univ., Moorhead
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 350 pages
• Publisher: Backbeat Books (December 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879306599
• ISBN-13: 978-0879306595
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,868,969 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended for biographical survey of Jazz history., March 23, 2002

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Classic Jazz: The Musicians and Recordings That Shaped Jazz, 1895-1933 (Paperback)

Scott Yanow's Classic Jazz profiles some of the biggest names in classic jazz; from Louis Armstrong and James Johnson to Jelly Roll Morton: the high-profile artists of the 1920s. Chapters explore the roots of jazz from its ragtime origins to early blues, focussing heavily on the period between 1917-33 and using biographical sketches to outline the experiences of the jazz makers. An intriguing, lively survey.

5 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not a good record guide, December 9, 2007

By 

Richard Sullivan "RichS" (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Classic Jazz: The Musicians and Recordings That Shaped Jazz, 1895-1933 (Paperback)

This book is a great way to learn about jazz musicians from the 20's and 30's but it's value as a record guide is limited. One of the reasons I bought this book was to know which recordings are the best ones to buy, but the recordings that Yanow recommends are for the most part long out of print LP's, or CD's that are hard to find or very expensive (like those on the French Classics label).

What early jazz aficionados sorely need is a *practical* record guide, evaluations of CD's that are currently and readily available.