West Coast Jazz: Modern Jazz in California, 1945-1960 (Paperback)

by Ted Gioia (Author)

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 --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (August 4, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195089162
• ISBN-13: 978-0195089165
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,502,766 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 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 (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

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.

3 of 3 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.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a truly great book.l, September 10, 1998

By A Customer

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

I have a rather large selection of albums from this era and this book covered many of them. I could seem to hear them in my mind as I read the book. This book not only explores the music well, but the people who played it. Would like another copy for a friend.