The Penguin Jazz Guide: The History of the Music in the 1000 Best Albums

by Brian Morton, Richard Cook

The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings is firmly established as the world's leading guide to recorded jazz, a mine of fascinating information and a source of insightful - often wittily trenchant - criticism. This is something rather Brian Morton (who taught American history at UEA) has picked out the 1000 best recordings that all jazz fans should have and shows how they tell the history of the music and with it the history of the twentieth century. He has completely revised his and Richard Cook's entries and reassessed each artist's entry for this book. The result is an endlessly browsable companion that will prove required reading for aficionados and jazz novices alike.'It's the kind of book that you'll yank off the shelf to look up a quick fact and still be reading two hours later' Fortune'Part jazz history, part jazz Karma Sutra with Cook and Morton as the knowledgeable, urbane, wise and witty guides ... This is one of the great books of recorded jazz; the other guides don't come close' Irish Times

Genres: Music, Jazz, Nonfiction, Reference, History

1721 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 4, 2010

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Brian Morton (born 1954) is a Scottish writer, journalist and broadcaster, mainly specialising in jazz and modern literature. Morton was educated at Edinburgh University and taught in the late 1970s at the University of East Anglia and the University of Tromsø in Norway.

Reviews

[Jorgon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, some years and weeks later, I can report that I have read every part of this book--and listened to every album reviewed herein at least once. Many of these recordings are now among my favourites, and I feel better for having done that, and having discovered many many musicians of whom I would have remained unaware otherwise.

I am currently engaged in two listening marathons; one truly massive (Mal Waldron), the other less so (Carla Bley), neither caused by this volume (I have heard both musicians previously) but rather inspired by it. Hopefully I will never run out of this music...

[Ken]

Am gradually going to work through this Guide with Spotify to listen to the key albums and to make playlists!!

[Cedric Hendrix · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought I had a fairly good grasp on the world of jazz. I bought this book with the thought that it would confirm what I already knew, plus give me a couple of new places to go as I expanded my jazz LP collection. Of course, any book claiming to know the "best" of anything is highly subjective, at best.

Penguin's jazz guide did more to befuddle me than confirm my beliefs. But that may be my problem more than anyone else's. There were some great choices in this book, along with a few that left me scratching my head. Some of the records mentioned had never so much as appeared as a blip on my musical radar.

I guess I have a lot to learn about jazz yet. Penguin will most likely prove to be a good teacher.

[Scott Andrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

No. I am not finished with this book.

Who could be?

I am using it throughout the year (2023) to deepen my inner aural landscape and music culture references.

You would be wise to do the same.

[Michael W · Rating 5 out of 5]

Due to the passing of one of its authors, Richard Cook, editions of The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings ended in 2007, and lately those editions been channeled into this document. While I think that this volume is deserving of five stars, the original Penguin Guide was more complete; it included reviews of bad and average records, which I think offers a much fuller and more nuanced view of the artists. Add to this the fact that The Penguin Guide is so well written (you can't call yourself a master of the English language without reading this!). On the other side: The Guide skews British/European, which isn't really that terrible. Suggestion: Read any section on Miles Davis, John Coltrane or Cecil Taylor (I'm not a Taylor fan, but the authors clearly loved him) and see if you learn anything about jazz, or even about how to express yourself intelligently about something you love. This Penguin Guide preserves that. I owned five different editions of the original; I Kindled this one, because I like having access to it.

[John Oswald · Rating 5 out of 5]

A favourite lockdown companion! I have gone deep into jazz, mostly bebop with bits of post bop and fusion but with bits of swing, blues and even free... probably explored a new record once every 2-3 days for months now thanks to @spotify And this magnificent book is the gift that keeps on giving - a history of the music in 1001 albums. Cook and Morton have been writing jazz guides for years - they have a keen eye for human interest, write wittily and with feeling, and love their craft. They’re perfect guides on my strange journey. I’m loving all the rich stories of strife, depression, conflict, love, respect, racism and rampant expression and musicianship at every turn. If you’ve ever been curious to explore jazz, look no further. #guehennoreads #booksof2021 #booksof2020 #jazz #takemedownthisrabbithole

[andré crombie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dizzy Gillespie said (1984): ‘There wasn’t much else in South Carolina when I was coming up. Music was a purpose and a way to make sense of life, and I believe that is universally true. I’m a teacher, not a preacher, but I believe music can save you. Nobody was killed by it, whatever you might hear; they were killed by something else.’

notes: this book’s summation of bill evans’ 1961 sets at the village vanguard applies more broadly: “This is music which continues to provoke marvel and endless study. It is hard to imagine anyone in love with music not responding to it.” indeed.

[Jag Mundi · Rating 3 out of 5]

somewhat interesting overview, but out of date and too many compilations.

[Jan Schultink · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great overview. Get the print version for easy browsing. They should add Spotify links to the e-version and I will buy both.

[Alan V · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent jazz primer all the way from the 1920s through to 2010. Well put together and full of insights to the key jazz artists and those people, labels and producers they recorded alongside.

[Sveučilišna Knjižnica Rijeka]

Jazz - Povijest

[Ron Lansverk · Rating 4 out of 5]

I cannot "update" progress since this book is never ending. It has many many avenues to walk down.