Author Description

Here is a brilliant and deeply informed overview of jazz history, one which gives a rich sense of who the major figures were and how they fit in with one another while showing the reader what to listen for and which recordings are indispensable for a full experience of the music. No other book fuses a singular examination of the key recordings with a presentation of the entire sweep of the music's classic period to provide the listener with such a useful and spirited companion. Winner of the ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award, presented annually by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers to American authors and journalists whose books and articles on the subject of music are selected for their excellence.