What Jazz Is

by Jonny King

Genres: Nonfiction

176 pages, Paperback

First published November 5, 1998

Reviews

[Fernando Pestana da Costa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very nice and short guide about how and what to listening to in jazz. In an easy non technical language the author guides us to the several elements that we need to pay attention to when listening to a jazz record or performance: the basics of melody and rhythm (and the elusive swing), the call-and-response, the several important instruments and how they connect with each other (the piano-bass-drums rhythm section, as well as the front-line voices of trumpet, saxes, vibes, etc.) In the third and last part of the book, the author analysis ten pieces, all taken from the Blue Note catalogue, in which the diverse elements that have been previously discussed can be listened in action (so to speak). All of these ten pieces are in the hard-bop language, with the possible exception of Ornette Coleman's Round Trip and Wayne Shorter's Miyako, and this is my only complaint about the book: a few additional pieces in different jazz idioms would have much enriched the book. Notwithstanding, this is a very nice book deserving a full attentive reading and many short visits from time to time.

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the novice jazz listener, informative guide for a newbie!