The Jazz Tradition [Paperback]

Martin Williams (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0195078160 | ISBN-13: 978-0195078169 | Publication Date: January 14, 1993 | Edition: 2

When it was first published in 1970, this lively and fascinating book was greeted with almost universal acclaim. The American Record Guide called it "the best one-volume of jazz we have," and the Jazz Journal praised it as "a brilliant study of the whole of jazz." Perhaps the greatest tribute was paid by Louis Armstrong himself who raved: "it held Ol' Satch spellbound." Now thoroughly revised and expanded, the new edition of The Jazz Tradition offers readers a unique history of jazz, as seen through its greatest practitioners.
An original blend of history and criticism, this book explores the work of nearly two dozen leading musicians and ensembles that have shaped the course of jazz, from King Oliver's Creole Jazz band to the present day. Couched in the same readable, non-technical language that made earlier editions so popular, The Jazz Tradition adds new chapters on some of the more recent giants of jazz, performers like pianist Bill Evans, versatile horn player and saxophonist Eric Dolphy, and the World Saxophone Quartet, and considerably expands the chapter devoted to Count Basie. In addition, a foreword by Richard Crawford introduces the new edition, and the discographies on each performer have been fully brought up to date. Written by an author The Washington Post lauded as "the most knowledgeable, open-minded, and perceptive American jazz critic today," The Jazz Tradition belongs in the library of all lovers of this distinctly American sound.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Martin Williams, who died in 1993, exerted an enormous influence on America's dialogue about jazz. He directed the Smithsonian Institute's jazz program, oversaw reissues on LP, cassette, and compact disc, and wrote a slew of books on the topic. His most lasting legacy, however, may be this compact volume, which appeared in a revised and expanded version in 1992. Williams approaches his material with a New Critical bent, analyzing specific performances--sometimes even specific phrases--in search of improvisational gold. But he brings a new clarity to everything he touches, from Jelly Roll Morton to the World Saxophone Quartet. And while Williams liked to keep his prose free of rhetorical fireworks, he's quite capable of registering the sublime. Here, for example, he sets the record straight on late-period Louis Armstrong: "Well into his 60s, Armstrong would play on some evenings in an astonishing way--astonishing not so much because of what he played as that he played it with such power, sureness, firmness, authority, such commanding presence as to be beyond category, almost (as they say of Beethoven's late quartets) to be beyond music."

Review

"Excellent essays help the student understand the musicians involved."--Stephen Stone, University of Oregon

"Martin Williams is perhaps our greatest living jazz critic."--Guenther Schuller

"Read anything of Williams you can lay your hands on....His knowledge of jazz is all but unmatched."--Washington Review

"Martin Williams persistently gets at essences, and that is why he has contributed so much to the very small body of authentic jazz criticism."--Nat Hentoff

"Readers...will without a doubt find in Williams the most coherent and clear-minded guide to the essences of jazz performance they have ever encountered. He remains truly the critic's critic."--Jack Sohmer, The Mississippi Rag

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 2 edition (January 14, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195078160
• ISBN-13: 978-0195078169
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #914,046 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars music always..., September 1, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Jazz Tradition (Paperback)

A reader's unfamiliarity with jazz does not detract from the value of this book. As a neophyte jazz listener I was introduced to Morton, Coltrane, Monk and Coleman from reading Williams' descriptions of their work and wondering "what does that SOUND like," then buying the records to hear (and decide) for myself. This is one of the most focused introductions to pre-1965 jazz you will find, because it is about the music, not sociology, biographical trivia, or amusing anecdotes.
Williams' preoccupation is with form, both in composition and improvisation. He shows how great jazz musicians demonstrate a strong sense of structure, (whether consciously or unconsciously), in their work, and how later musicians have built on the work of earlier players. In other words, these guys aren't just up there blowing a bunch of notes, they are creating art based on form and tradition in a similar and equal way to "classical" music.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Overview of Jazz, February 9, 2000

By 

Simon A. Weil (UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Jazz Tradition (Paperback)

This is one of the great books on Jazz (and there are not very many). Williams has 23 (short) chapters on great Jazz musicians framed by 2 more general statements. I don't think any writer has been a more penetrating critic of Jazz and I find myself returning to this book year after year. Perhaps you won't understand it all at one go (I didn't) but, as Nat Hentoff put it, "Martin Williams persistently gets at essences". He has his faults:- he didn't really like Coltrane, maybe he overates the MJQ, post 60's jazz is covered only by the World Saxophone Quartet. But don't be put off, no current writer (Williams died in the 90s) matches him.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book for those seeking to explore Jazz, January 22, 2001

By 

Jeffrey A. Cohen (Cambridge, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Jazz Tradition (Paperback)

I have found Williams to be a very perceptive guide to a wide range of composers and musicians. His judgments usually seem to be right on the money and his writing is quite clear and not at all aimed at some elite of jazz initiates (not that there's anything wrong with assuming your audience knows something - there's no imperative for authors to pitch every book at tyros, as much as certain readers seem to think that it's an outrage when they don't understand something they've read).