Author Description

"Jazz: The First Century marks the passage of the music's first hundred years by bringing together text and art in a chronicle that opens up the vibrant world of jazz to everyone.". "Jazz: The First Century is edited by John Edward Hasse, Curator of American Music at the Smithsonian Institution, leading a writing team of today's finest and most widely respected jazz authorities. Their compelling essays are complemented by a design packed with more than 300 images, including vintage photographs, sheet music covers, rare album jackets, posters, and more.". "In addition, seventy concise sidebars focus on important songs, key landmarks and personalities, and conventions of jazz performance and composition. They also examine the confluence of jazz with radio and television and with such art forms as film, painting, literature, poetry, classical music, and dance." "Here also are hundreds of recommended recordings - selections based on opinions gathered in an international survey of historians, educators, critics, musicians, and broadcasters.". "For newcomers and aficionados alike, Jazz: The First Century offers a wealth of information. It's an essential and comprehensive overview of the music Tony Bennett calls "America's greatest contribution to the world... a celebration of life itself.""--BOOK JACKET.