West Coast Jazz: Modern Jazz in California, 1945-1960 [Paperback]

Ted Gioia (Author), William Claxton (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1998

This text examines jazz icons such as Gerry Mulligan and Chet Baker whilst also incorporating the careers of other West Coast jazz men, both well-known and obscure, in a basic history of the California scene.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Gioia, founder of Stanford's jazz studies program, provides a fresh view of West Coast jazz during its heyday. Avoiding the hackneyed debate over West Coast cool versus East Coast bop, he emphasizes the variety in West Coast jazz in chapters about such talents as cool trumpeter Chet Baker, the muscular-sounding Dexter Gordon, the classically oriented Dave Brubeck, innovative bandleader Stan Kenton, and avant-garde hornman Ornette Coleman. The author attributes this West Coast diversity to the urban sprawl of Southern California and to supportive jazz clubs, critics, and such record companies as Fantasy, Contemporary, Capitol, and Pacific Jazz. Basing his account on numerous interviews, Gioia offers the first comprehensive history of postwar West Coast jazz, which should quickly become a standard. Recommended for general and scholarly collections in American music.
- David Szatmary, Univ. of Washington, Seattle
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"A book that desperately needed to be written and has turned out to be a surprise landmark and masterpiece." -- Bruce and Joel Klauber, Jazziz

"Gioia writes with the musical knowledge of a jazzman and the immediacy of a reporter, in language that has a casual grace." -- Bill Kisliuk, San Francisco Review of Books

"Ted Gioia is very much a West Coast jazz partisan, and his informed enthusiasm and wide-ranging research make West Coast Jazz a highly rewarding and arguable book. . . . Makes a large, disparate, unruly subject not only coherent but also intriguing." -- Chicago Tribune

"While the requisite space is devoted to such cool icons as Gerry Mulligan and Chet Baker, Gioia also takes an expert, often iconoclastic look at the careers of other West Coast jazz men, both well-known and obscure. . . . Anyone looking for a basic history of the California scene should start with this smart, opinionated book." -- Chris Morris, Billboard

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 428 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (October 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520217292
• ISBN-13: 978-0520217294
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 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: #304,545 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ted Gioia is a pianist, critic and music historian. The Dallas Morning News has called him "one of the outstanding music historians in America." Two of Gioia's works have been named notable books of the year by the New York Times, and three others have been honored with the ASCAP-Deems Taylor award. In addition, Gioia was one of the founders of the jazz studies program at Stanford and formerly served as editor-in-chief of www.jazz.com, a major music web portal.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book About a Great Era of Jazz, April 19, 2009

By 

Sussex Pond Pudding (Somewhere in the desert, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: West Coast Jazz: Modern Jazz in California, 1945-1960 (Paperback)

Finally, a book that takes the West Coast jazz movement seriously, instead of as a footnote to the New York Cool school. Gioia has compiled a wealth of information destined to be forgotten about a style that is considered unworthy of being taken seriously by the East Coast-centric, anti-white jazz critics. Mostly white people playing jazz by the beaches of California made no sense to them and still doesn't. Open any history of jazz. Try finding any mention of Bud Shank, Pete Jolly, Jack Sheldon, etc. One of the great movements in jazz was rejected because it did not fit into the steroetype of gritty, dark, and Black-made (compare Blue Note album covers with Contemporary Records album covers). The only one given any attention was Chet Baker, and this was due to his romantic James Dean-like image rather than his brilliant trumpet playing. Don't get me wrong, there were many excellent black participants in the movement, such as Hampton Hawes and Buddy Collette but I do truly believe that there is a racial bias against West Coast jazz. Okay, I am stepping down off my soapbox. This book belongs in the cannon of great jazz history books. It is a well-researched, fascinating journey through the jazz world of Los Angeles primarily, but also the San Francisco Bay Area, starting with a wonderful foray into the the life of Central Avenue, Dexter Gordon and Wardell Gray (who probably would have been ignored too had they not left LA). Any fan of the music needs to own it and every jazz critic should be tied to a chair and have it read to him. Then he should be untied and played Art Pepper records all night. Should also be required reading in whatever California public school music and arts programs are left as an essential expresion of the distinct California aesthetic, as important as the architecture of Frank Gehry and the photography of Ansel Adams.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From Central Avenue to Something Else!, March 24, 2005

By 

Bomojaz (South Central PA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: West Coast Jazz: Modern Jazz in California, 1945-1960 (Paperback)

This is a highly distinguished book on the history of West Coast jazz, a phenomenon that existed from the mid-40's until about 1960--at least in terms of it being a special brand of jazz distinct from other styles (East Coast, Traditional, etc.).
It developed in the black section of Los Angeles along Central Avenue where clubs abound, and mainly followed the flowering of bebop as created by Bird and Diz and Bud Powell, among others. The Cool School, led by Chet Baker and Gerry Mulligan, is dealt with fully, and there are chapters on important West Coast highlights such as the Lighthouse groups, Shorty Rogers, Art Pepper, and Shelly Manne. There are even a couple of chapters on the San Francisco scene, especially Dave Brubeck. Gioia's writing is excellent, scholarly but lively and interesting. A must-have jazz book.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A excellent book, an incredible bargain, September 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: West Coast Jazz: Modern Jazz in California, 1945-1960 (Paperback)

The best book on jazz (or any other topic!) I've read in the past few years. The author manages to sustain a wonderful balance among scholarship, human interest, and serious criticism. I thought I knew something about this topic -- found out I knew very little. The section on Brubeck's early years is, by itself, well worth the price of the book.