The Encyclopedia Yearbooks Of Jazz

by Leonard Feather

This volume combines "The Encyclopedia Yearbook of Jazz" (1956) and "The New Yearbook of Jazz" (1958) to form a single-volume source of information, photographs and opinion. Originally conceived as companion volumes to Leonard Feather's "The Encyclopedia of Jazz" and, therefore, including over 600 biographies of musicians, these yearbooks also feature material such a "What's Happening in Jazz" section; a "Musician's Musicians" poll, where jazz greats from Louis Armstrong to Lester Young vote on their favourites; hundreds of photographs; a poll of jazz fans (78.6% disliked rock 'n' roll in 1956); "Favourite Versions of Favourite Tunes", where 25 favourite songs are listed along with their best interpretations; contributions written by Benny Goodman, John Hammond and Martin Williams; "Meet the Critics" - short biographies of 30 of the greatest jazz critics of the time; articles on jazz and classical music, jazz and the other arts, and jazz and the phonograph; and "The Best of the Blindfold Test, 1951-1958". This book should provide an excellent source of information for anyone who wants to know about the state of jazz in the turbulent musical decade of the 1950s. Leonard Feather's other books include "The Encyclopedia of Jazz" and "The Jazz Years - Eyewitness to an Era".

154 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1987

About the author

Leonard Geoffrey Feather was a British-American musician, composer, record producer, music journalist and radio broadcaster. He began working in radio broadcasting in the U.K. during the 1930s, and wrote a regular column for the British magazine 'Radio Times' during those years as well, titled "Tempo di Jazz". After working as a record producer in both the U.K. and U.S., he moved in 1939 to New York City; he later moved to Los Angeles during the early 1960s. Leonard Feather was co-editor (with Barry Ulanov) of the U.S. music business magazine 'Metronome' for many years, until it ceased publication in 1961. He also served as chief jazz critic for the Los Angeles Times until his death.