This reference book covers the whole range of jazz from Buddy Bolden, pioneer of jazz trumpet, to young players of the 1990s, like Roy Hargrove. It is a completely revised edition of the "Essential Guide to Jazz", featuring updated and expanded entries, over 300 new artists, and the authors' personal recommendations of some 3000 key albums. The guide is both a "Who's Who" of jazz, detailing careers and developments, and a buyer's companion to the best albums on CD and vinyl. It features A-Z critical biographies of nearly 2000 musicians with reviews of their key recordings. A glossary gives concise explanations of all the crucial terms and ideas, from swing to neo-bop, and from improvisation to harmolodics. It is illustrated throughout with photographs of the greatest players in action. The authors are all jazz musicians themselves, and bring a musician's inside knowledge of the music and the scene. Trumpeter Ian Carr is a biographer of Miles Davis, and trumpeter Digby Fairweather and pianist Brian Priestley are broadcasters.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Written by musicians, Jazz: The Rough Guide contains more than 1,600 biographies, from Ahmed Abdul-Malik (Brooklyn bass and oud player, 1927 to 1993, who played with Thelonious Monk, Herbie Mann, and Coltrane) to Axel Zwingenberger (German boogie- woogie pianist, born 1955, played with Joe Newman, Joe Turner, and Sippie Wallace, and has helped revitalize jazz piano). In addition to profiling a broad spectrum of jazz musicians (both famous and lesser-known composers and performers), it clarifies crucial jazz issues, gives historical perspective, and also serves as a buyer's guide, with discographies and pithy reviews of representative recordings.
The Guide's alphabetical, encyclopedic organization makes it useful as a dependable jazz reference, and it's wonderfully browsable, too, illustrated with fine classic black-and-white photographs (of performers such as Jelly Roll Morton and his Red Hot Peppers) and beautifully written. A good starter text for jazz neophytes, the CD suggestions are a great help toward custom- building your jazz library. There's also a fine glossary that explains a cappella and acid jazz, Afro-Latin, airshot, and atonality. It's a safe source of education if you're ignorant about ballads, bebop, or B-flat. It's useful for learning about major jazz styles (Chicago, Dixieland, and dirty, Kansas City, ragtime, and scat), plus musical concepts such as harmony, improvisation, and tempo. Concise, accessible, and addictively readable, Jazz: The Rough Guide is a great introduction to the world of jazz. --Stephanie Gold
From School Library Journal
YA?The biographies of nearly 2,000 leading individual musicians and groups, both contemporary and from the early part of this century, are presented here. The emphasis is on each person's interest in and contribution to the world of music. Information such as family or education may not be given unless it relates to that topic. Written by jazz musicians themselves, the entries conclude with annotated recommendations for purchase of the "best and most representative recordings" of that artist. The designation of CD or LP is done through symbols. The black-and-white photographs add interest. The concluding 30-page glossary discusses styles, techniques, and terms. This section will be useful in its own right as long as librarians remember that it is in a resource shelved in the collective biography section. A comprehensive resource.?Claudia Moore, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Global Jazz Guide,
By A Customer
This review is from: Jazz: The Essential Companion to Artists and Albums (Rough Guides) (Paperback)
I enjoyed this book because of its widespread coverage of both American and international jazz musicians. It's an excellent musical resource which has a place in my music library alongside with such user-friendly guides as "World Music: The Rough Guide" and "The Brazilian Sound."
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good as a selective reference,
By A Customer
This review is from: Jazz: The Essential Companion to Artists and Albums (Rough Guides) (Paperback)
The essays are excellent and informative, but there is a noticeable emphasis on musicians from outside the U.S., occasionally to the short-shrifting, in my humble opinion, of some of the better known U.S. musicians. Also, if you're looking for a _comprehensive_ guide to recorded music, this is definitely not it. The authors select a few albums they feel are noteworthy and don't mention the rest.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not the perfect book, but a great reference,
This review is from: Jazz: The Essential Companion to Artists and Albums (Rough Guides) (Paperback)
Like all guides that intend or claim to be definitive references to their subject matter, this falls short to an extent, and will not please everyone. However, along with other companion books, this is a great reference guide to jazz artists and styles.
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