Early Jazz: Its Roots and Musical Development (History of Jazz) [Paperback]

Gunther Schuller (Author)

Book Description

Series: History of Jazz | Publication Date: June 19, 1986

This classic study of jazz by renowned composer, conductor, and musical scholar Gunther Schuller was widely acclaimed on its first publication in 1968. The first of two volumes on the history and musical contribution of jazz, it takes us from the beginnings of jazz as a distinct musical style at the turn of the century to its first great flowering in the 1930's. Schuller explores the music of the great jazz soloists of the twenties--Jelly Roll Morton, Bix Beiderbecke, Bessie Smith, Louis Armstrong, and others--and the big bands and arrangers--Fletcher Henderson, Bennie Moten, and especially Duke Ellington--placing their music in the context of the other musical cultures and languages of the 20th century and offering original analyses of many great jazz recordings.
Now reissued in paper, Early Jazz provides a musical tour of the early American jazz world for a new generation of scholars, students, and jazz fans.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Great book for early jazz history--for study group."--Lawrence J. Ward, Harvard Institute for Learning in Retirement

"An excellent text."--David L. Esleck, Virginia Union University

"The best informed and most thorough work of jazz criticism thus far."--Hudson Review

"Jazz...has inspired an enormous literature. The writer always mentioned first among buffs and scholars is Gunther Schuller; his Early Jazz...is a basic book."--Wilson Quarterly

"A milestone in technical ethnomusicology, offering an abundance of musical illustrations."--Los Angeles Times

"The definitive work about the music up to about 1930."--The Chicago Sun-Times

"The most scholarly and perceptive work on the subject to date....A beautifully written combination of precise musical analysis and sensitive appreciation."--American Historical Review

"A superb job, in its thorough scholarship, its critical perception, and its love and respect for its subject. All future commentary on jazz--indeed on American music-should be indebted to Schuller's work."--Martin Williams

"One of the finest works ever written on the history and analysis of jazz."--Richard E. Wright, University of Kansas

"A remarkable breakthrough in musical analysis of jazz. I emphasize musical because that's the element of jazz least often written about with this degree of skill and clarity."--Nat Hentoff

About the Author

Gunther Schuller is a musician, composer, conductor, educator, and the first composer to be awarded the Elise L. Stoeger Composer's Chair of the Chamber Society of Lincoln Center.

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; New edition edition (June 19, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195040430
• ISBN-13: 978-0195040432
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #517,251 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best musical examination of 20s jazz, August 13, 2000

By 

Robert James (Culver City, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Early Jazz: Its Roots and Musical Development (History of Jazz) (Paperback)

Jazz criticism tends to run in two groups: one, the biographical/anecdotal (often marvelous to read), and two, word pictures of how the music made the writer feel (often awful to read). Gunther Schuller's "Early Jazz" does what any undergraduate musicology major would do: examine the music note by note, and explain what's going on. While this is not an easy book to read for people like me who have no musical training (or talent, for that matter), it is an absolutely essential book nonetheless. Schuller goes through each major musician and movement of the twenties, and shows exactly what is occurring. What worked best for me was to have the recording he was discussing playing while I read, so I could hear what he was talking about. Anybody in love with the early music of Armstrong or Ellington needs to tackle this book sooner or later.

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An American Heritage., May 11, 2000

By 

Peter Stöve, arranger, conductor of "th... (Amstelveen, Netherlands) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Early Jazz: Its Roots and Musical Development (History of Jazz) (Paperback)

I can't believe that no-one has reviewed this wonderful book until now. It is one of the cornerstones of jazz criticism, and the first one not written by one of these annoying pipe-smoking, foot-tapping listeners you always notice sitting at tables beside the bandstand at jazzclubs, but by a very fine musician who has actually been 'one of the cats'. O.K., he is a French horn-player, but jazz buffs who are 'in the know' with the work of Julius Watkins and John Graas won't mind. But seriously: His chapters on Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton (some thirty years before the Dirty Dozen Brass Band decided to dedicate a whole CD to the music of this first truly 'jazz composer'), but especially Fletcher Henderson and Duke Ellington will enlighten everyone who is looking for a critical assesment of the music and is tired of the endless re-telling of the phoney 'romantic' stories surrounding this music. And for the people who think they know about everything: One chapter is enirely dedicated to what is known as 'territory' bands, the bands that only played their home town and the region around it. Many a gem of inspired music can be unearthed in this chapter. P.S. O.K., I'm biased. Mr. Schuller autographed my hardcover copy of the book when he was conducting the Dutch Radio Symphony Orchestra, and I gatecrashed at a rehearsal.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous in-depth look at Jazz' early development, August 2, 2008

By 

Priscilla Stilwell "Music Is Life..." (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Early Jazz: Its Roots and Musical Development (History of Jazz) (Paperback)

Hardly a stone is left unturned in this look into the early development of jazz. It provides a thorough introduction to a wide range of subjects and artists, carefully reviewing each of numerous recordings.

This is not a biographical account of the lives of the early jazz artists, but is an analysis of the styles and development. From the deep south and the roots of the music, into the Midwest and Southwestern styles, the author is thorough and careful in his look.

Much more than an introduction, this certainly would be suitable for a college course in jazz development.