Music > Jazz

Following on from "It Just Occurred to Me" (ISBN: 1861059019) - Humphrey Lyttelton's much-loved book of reminscences and thoughts - this highly original book is a must for the novice jazz fan and aficionado alike. Looking in detail at a wide range of great jazz figures and their classic recordings, the inimitable Humph provides plenty of lively historical background, often taken from the reminiscences of the musicians involved.Artists discussed in the book include Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, Duke Ellington, Bessie Smith, Co... read more

From 1961 to '76, Impulse Records defined the shape of jazz - the label invited listeners in to an exciting and wide-ranging world of challenging, improvised music. It fully lived up to its motto of being 'The New Wave of Jazz'. The list of leaders Impulse recorded both mirrored and helped shape the diversity of the day: from Coleman Hawkins, Duke Ellington, Earl Hines, Benny Carter and Pee Wee Russell to Count Basie, Art Blakey, J. J. Johnson, Max Roach and Sonny Stitt. But the musician who dominated the entire label, Impulse's be... read more

..."in the tradition of the best jazz autobiographies...a fascinating travelogue through the jazz world, filled with vivid images of Gene Krupa, Stan Kenton, Roy Eldridge and Billie Holiday...Her prose is as hip as her music." - The New York Times Book Review "The record of the early years is like the story of the music itself: rich, exciting, innovative; featuring the primitive beauty of the twenties when one foot was still in showbiz; the thirties with hip sophistication and hard swinging for hard times; the explosive forties of... read more

The legendary jazz pianist's autobiography has been a work in progress for nearly fifteen years and proves to be well worth the wait. As monumental as the man himself and his six-decade career in jazz, A Jazz Odyssey begins with Peterson's early years in Canada as part of a large family for whom times were often hard, going on to trace in detail not only his musical development but much of the social and political background that underscored it. Peterson's account focuses on his US debut at Carnegie Hall in 1949 and his startling r... read more

Aiming to challenge many of the assumptions that surround the birth and growth of jazz music, this book re-evaluates the transition from swing to be-bop, asking just how political this supposed modern jazz revolution actually was. It also includes names as John Medeski, Diana Krall, Django Bates, and Matthias Ruegg.

This is the product of many years of impassioned study. Bix Beiderbecke is one of jazz music's most enigmatic figures, and he has captivated listeners since his career began in the 1920s. He died at just 28, leaving many loose ends and inspiring much speculation. This book aims to clarify many of the myths created and the fictionalizations of Bix's life. French jazz scholar Jean Pierre Lion travelled the trajectory of Bix's life, from birth to death, to boarding school, on tour and beyond, to find the true story of this pivotal fig... read more

110 classics, including: All the things You Are * Autumn in New York * Bewitched * Cry Me a River * Don't Get Around Much Anymore * A Fine Romance * I Can't Get Started With You * I've Got You Under My Skin * The Lady Is a Tramp * Manhattan * Misty * My Funny Valentine * Old Devil Moon * Prelude to a Kiss * Route 66 * Smoke Gets in Your Eyes * There's a Small Hotel * When Sunny Gets Blue * You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To * and more. First published 1998. Physical Info: 1.73 cms H x 17.12 cms L x 10.72 cms W (0.15 kgs) 256 pages

Dizzy Gillespie has secured his place in the jazz pantheon as one of the most expressive and virtuosic improvisers in the history of music. But he was much more than that. As one of the primary creators of the bebop and Afro-Cuban revolutions, he twice fundamentally changed the way jazz improvisation was done. And he later extended his revolutionary reach by transforming the aesthetic of big band jazz. This vivid biography chronicles Dizzy's saga from the lowest rung on the American social and political ladder to the highest. B... read more

The first comprehensive, full-length history of the greatest jazz label of all time Founded in 1939, the record label Blue Note defined modern jazz. With a roster of artists including Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Thelonious Monk, Blue Note revolutionized both the recording industry and American music like no other label before or since. Now, for the first time, this legendary house receives the full-length history it deserves, timed for the celebration of its seventieth anniversary. Jazz scholar Ashley Kahn has obtained unpreced... read more

'It is the most singular of sounds, yet among the most ubiquitous. It is the sound of isolation that has sold itself to millions'. Miles Davis'"Kind of Blue" is the best selling piece of music in the history of jazz, and for many listeners among the most haunting in all of twentieth-century music. It is also, notoriously, the only jazz album many people own. Recorded in 1959 (in nine miraculous hours), there has been nothing like it since. Its atmosphere - slow, dark, meditative, luminous - became all-pervasive for a generation, an... read more

Lennie Tristano occupies a rare position in jazz history. Emerging from an era when modernism was the guiding principle in jazz, Tristano explored musical avenues that were avant-garde even by modernism's experimental standards. In so doing, he tested and transcended the boundaries of jazz. In 1949, years before musicians such as Ornette Coleman and Cecil Taylor took credit for the movement, Tristano made the first recordings of "free jazz," a new kind of group improvisation based on spontaneous interaction among band members witho... read more

Drawing on research and scores of interviews with those who knew him, the author delves into Tommy Dorsey's famously eccentric lifestyle and his oversized appetite for drink, women, and perfection. First published September 2005.

"Richard Cook's Jazz Encyclopedia" is not merely an A-Z guide to the artists and bands who have shaped jazz, but it also tracks the history of jazz and its changing styles. This is a wonderfully accessible work. Richard Cook's passion for jazz and his strongly held opinions make this the liveliest and most trenchantly witty encyclopedia you'll have read. Whether you're trying to find out why Louis Armstrong was called Satchmo (his nickname as a kid was Satchelmouth), what bebop is, or the difference between Gil Evans and Bill Evans... read more

14,000 CDs reviewed2,000 New discs in this editionMore than 500 new artist listingsThe Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings is now firmly established as the world's leading guide to recorded jazz. For this eighth edition Richard Cook and Brian Morton have once again reassessed and updated each entry. Whether you're looking for the best new CDs or finding out which are the essential jazz albums for downloading, this book is the perfect companion. It is a mine of information and a source of insightful, witty, trenchant criticism that is ... read more

All the basics you need to play 115 jazz favorites! Features melody, lyrics and chords for: All of Me * Basin Street Blues * Cheek to Cheek * For All We Know * I'll Take Romance * Let's Fall in Love * Makin' Whoopee! * My Old Flame * The Nearness of You * September Song * Squeeze Me * Time After Time * Yesterdays * and more. First published January 2010. Unsewn / adhesive bound 255pp h173mm x w111mm x s17mm 150g

Endorsed by Jamey Aebersold, James Moody, Dave Liebman, and others, The Jazz Theory Book presents all the information any student of jazz needs in an easy-to-understand, yet thorough, manner. For intermediate to advanced players, and written by one of the acknowledged masters of jazz, it is used by universities around the world. First published 1995.

Introduction by Richard Williams. Mingus by Mingus. From the shabby roadhouses to fabulous estates, from the psychiatric ward of Bellevue to worlds of mysticism and solitude, these are the celebrated, demonic, anguished and, above all, profoundly moving memoirs of the great jazz bassist and composer Charles Mingus. First published in 1971, Beneath the Underdog is a masterpiece of memoir, a riveting insight into one of the giants of twentieth century music The Reviews 'Enter the tilted world of a damaged genius.' Time Ou... read more

As well as being one of Australia's best known and best loved jazz musicians, James Morrison is a great storyteller. James has packed about three lifetimes' worth into 43 years and this is an action packed ride through the highlights.

In "To a Young Jazz Musician, the renowned jazz musician and Pulitzer Prize--winning composer Wynton Marsalis gives us an invaluable guide to making good music-and to leading a good life. Writing from the road "between the bus ride, the sound check, and the gig," Marsalis passes on wisdom gained from experience, addressed to a young musician coming up-and to any of us at any stage of life. He writes that having humility is a way to continue to grow, to listen, and to learn; that patience is necessary for developing both technica... read more

Miles Davis was one of the crucial influences in the development of modern jazz. He regularly changed styles, leaving his impact on a series of forms of jazz. This book tells the story of his childhood, his depressions and his relationship with heroin.