The Art Of Jazz: Ragtime To Bebop

by Martin T. Williams

A collection of writings on jazz deals with the major areas and personalities of this musical style

Genres: Music

253 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

Reviews

[Jeff Crompton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This 1959 anthology collects some of the best jazz writing up to that time, when there were only a handful of really excellent jazz books available. Most of the articles here appeared in tiny jazz magazines, so it's great to have them collected in more permanent form. There is a touch of hyperbole here and there, and a few inaccurate or poorly-worded statements. But 56 years later, it's easy to forgive those minor weaknesses. Here is jazz writing of historical importance and (mostly) sound judgement.