Concise Guide to Jazz [with Jazz Classics Cassette & Demonstration Cassette]

by Mark C. Gridley

A text/CD package designed to fit into a ten-week college quarter. Contains chapters on origins of jazz and how to listen to it, and on styles from early jazz through bebop, cool jazz, avant-garde, and fusion, comparing styles of 40 major figures and overviewing major trends. Includes appendices on elements of music and on buying the best albums, plus chapter summaries and 88 b&w photos of top musicians at work. Two companion audio CDs offer historic recordings by jazz greats, and feature narrated illustrations of instruments and methods that jazz musicians use. Boxes in the text give extensive notes on the CD selections. A video is also available. This second edition contains expanded discussion of blues and smooth jazz, and new material on acid jazz. For use in high school and colleges course for students with no technical knowledge of music. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Genres: Nonfiction, Music

Paperback

First published November 1, 1991

Reviews

[My work is never done · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its a good book to learn the history of Jazz and how modern music relates to it. I learned for instance, that Jazz can trace its linage to military brass bands from the Civil War. So it's literally a musical phenomena that has been going on for centuries.

But it is a tad boring at first for someone who is not particularly into music or already knows the history well.

In either case, its a good read and comes with its sound track of Jazz music.