books about jazz
piedpiper
1,279 Posts
I am looking for quality books about jazz and I am curious to know what the strut recommends. I already have these 
the small one is a general introduction in German and the other one the SABA/MPS label guide. I am also familiar with J.E. Behrendt "Das Jazzbuch" (the Jazzbook).However, I am looking for quality stuff in English - general overviews (rough guide to jazz etc ?), label or artist biographies. Which book can you recommend and what is enjoyable to read?Please to drop some knowledge!
the small one is a general introduction in German and the other one the SABA/MPS label guide. I am also familiar with J.E. Behrendt "Das Jazzbuch" (the Jazzbook).However, I am looking for quality stuff in English - general overviews (rough guide to jazz etc ?), label or artist biographies. Which book can you recommend and what is enjoyable to read?Please to drop some knowledge!
Comments
The Penguine Guide to Jazz is probably the best introduction to Jazz. Some of the reviews and grades are cryptic, but overall, I think it's the very best book about Jazz. Mostly pictures, record reviews, grdings, biographies, discographies and so on. A good read.
You will learn about the inner workings of the worlds greatest jazz orchestra from the mid 40s till the late 60s and lots more.
Dress
you're right. great footage. but that was the work they copied from other guys. the new stuf in the documentary is really terrible.
at least, they should have tried to show what kind of crazy recordings were done in the MPS studios.
i don't even read and this was a great book.
I'm trying to get a little floetic with it, ya heard.
the film is really tepid. the book is a reliable resource for mps/saba. not a "great" book, but it??s helpful. You get familiar with all the covers and you can finally clear every OG check ever. I could borrow it from a friend for some time, so I did not have to drop cash for it.
my list
1. mile davis autobiography by quincy troupe is a must read. its pretty comprehensive and some of the anecdotes in there are fucking superb.
2. who killed jazz? forget the author but its an all out assault on stanley grouch and wynt marsalis.
3. "Sonny's Blues", the short story by william baldwin
haha, nice. i might have to check that one out.
2. who killed jazz? forget the author but its an all out assault on stanley grouch and wynt marsalis.
I've gotta check that. Shelve it next to Pat Methany's attack on Kenny G.
art pepper's STRAIGHT LIFE is a marathon of a read, but well worth it. 500 pages of heroin.
npr jazz critic kevin whitehead always nails it for reviews.
This is a great book about Jazz, but more importantly an amazing portrait of creativity in general. Essential reading for any jazz fan.
Oooo. That's nice.
if you are looking for a book about the record and bio-/discographical data, go for the penguine guide. not everything in there is gold, but at least you get a proper idea. there's are other penguine guides. i've seen the blues guid at an airport. very nice!
anyone familiar with the allmusic guide or the rough guide?
however, great contributions so far. I will definitely check out a couple of these books.
I was gonna point that out. I was a bit dissapointed in that, otherwise it is a wealth of info, but probably waaaaay more than anyone needs. I mean, how much data about Keith Jarrett ECM records do you really need?
ehm... does that matter? what are you looking for? a guide to the most rare and obscure records or a guide to jazz music? honestly, you can't judge a book by fucking amazon...
And I'm very happy with it. Haven't read the Penguin Dic. I've tried other dictionaries, but I haven't found another one that I really took a liking to. I especially hate dictionaries where the author(s) try to force their opinions down the reader's throat. Like "it all went downhill when Herbie started playing the Rhodes" or "Ornette should never have picked up a violin". I want dictionaries to be fairly objective and straight informative. No soapbox bullshit, just the facts, ma'am.
huh?
It would be an advantage if it would cover jazz records and not jazz cd??s/ in-print titles only.
the book is not about current jazz cds! unless there's a new edition. it used to be about old and new jazz recordings. maybe the newest edition is about new jazz.
the blues one is cool. and the jazz one is even better.
His point is that it only covers jazz that is currently in print, which leaves out a LOT of some artists most enduring recordings, not that it only covers current artists and recordings.
A good compromise would have been to simply gather together an artist's best titles and simply remark wether it is in print or not. A better name for the book would be 2007 Jazz Buyer's Guide: A Guide to Jazz on CD.
By titling it The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings, it is a bit deceptive. PLUS it is probably more info than most people want to know, data-wise. Not saying that's a bad thing, just so people are aware of the type of tome it is.
+ I buy 2nd hand RECORDS, which (surprise! surprise!) are often not in print anymore or not available as CDs yet.
what??s so hard to understand?
I think it??s a serious disadvantage if a guide for jazz releases leaves out titles that are currently out of print. I will most likely look for 2nd hand records and, thus, this is more or less irrelevant for me. That does not mean that I need a book about 2nd hand records only. A guide for jazz releases should IMO cover all the (relevant) releases from particular artists.