Jazz: The essential companion

by Ian Carr

Critical biographies cover the legends of the genre as well as today's hottest young players. Included are nearly 3,000 recommendations of recordings.

Genres: Music

562 pages, Hardcover

First published October 15, 1988

About the author

Ian Carr was a Scottish jazz musician, composer, writer, and educator.

Apart from writing a regular column for the BBC Music Magazine, Carr wrote biographies of the jazz musicians Keith Jarrett and Miles Davis. He was also the co-author of the reference work The Rough Guide to Jazz which has passed through four editions from 1994 (originally Jazz, The Essential Companion, 1988). In addition he contributed sleeve notes for the albums of other musicians (eg "Indo-Jazz Fusions" by Joe Harriott/John Mayer).

In 1987, he was appointed associate professor at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, where he taught composition and performance, especially improvisation and was founder of the jazz workshop at the Interchange arts scheme, where pianist Julian Joseph, amongst others, was one of his students.