A Century Of Jazz

by Roy Carr

A Century of Jazz is the first-ever chronicle of the major influence in western music this century. Organized by year, style, and place, it is supplemented with special features on subjects relevant to each period. Making deliberate reference to popular music in general, where jazz has always been a strong influence, the book covers not only major jazz cult artists including Armstrong, Parker, and Coltrane, but also crossover figures such as Crosby, Glenn Miller, Sinatra, and George Benson, broadening its appeal beyond jazz connoisseurs to all music fans. A Century of Jazz is richly illustrated with a wealth of rare images and graphic material, plus the work of major jazz photographers such as Herman Leonard, Bob Willoughby, and Val Wilmer, and it includes contributions by such notable jazz writers as Fred Dellar, Brian Case, Richard Cook, and Neil Slaven. Featuring a sumptuous full-color layout and authoritative, entertaining writing, it is the definitive illustrated celebration of jazz history, jazz people, and jazz style.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, History, Jazz, Reference

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Roy Carr (b. 1945) was an English music journalist, covering pop, rock and jazz. He joined the New Musical Express (NME) in the late 1960s, and edited NME, Vox and Melody Maker magazines.

Reviews

[H (trying to keep up with GR friends) Balikov · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently criticized another jazz book, Know It All Jazz: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show.... I have no such reservations about A Century of Jazz. This book has most everything that I value. Great photos; plenty of album covers and concert posters; and incisive comments such as the following: “Today, records may well carry ‘explicit lyrics’ warning stickers, but in the mid-50s, bible-thumpin’ right-wing pressure groups mounted alarmist campaigns urging ‘decent’ white folk to protect their children from being corrupted by black music. It was much too late. It wasn’t a question of the Devil having the best tunes, but local black radio stations which impressionable young white teenagers tuned into EN Masse. In retaliation, access to white radio was denied to all but the odd ‘untainted’ black record that became too big to ignore. To this end, white radio force-fed its young listeners inferior white ‘covers’ of black R&B jukebox hits.”

Yes, this book on jazz does not stint on its exploration of the blues as well as the connections with “rock ‘n’ roll.” Published just before 2000, it is missing the most recent developments, but it provides (as promised) extraordinary coverage of “A Hundred Years of The Greatest Music Ever Made.”

Here’s a partial list of its contents:
Way Down Yonder in New Orleans
The Windy City and the Big Apple
The Be Bop Revolution
Cool on the Coast
The New Thing
Jazz on the Juke Box
Future Funk – Acid Jazz
Jazz Festivals
Boxing Clever – CD box sets
Western Swing
Jazz Movies

My library has a copy and there are plenty available used. A definite “keeper.”

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fabulous coffee table sized book and comprehensive history of a century of jazz. I love that it is laid out like a scrap book, which kept my eyes moving and piqued my interest on every page. About two-thirds of the way through The Chart lists all the jazz albums that made it to the top 40 through the 50s, 60s and 70s. There are a lot of them indicating the influence of jazz on American culture.

[B. P. Rinehart · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Basic 101 overview of Jazz in the 20th century not as in depth as Jazz: A History of America's Music but it does cover a longer time frame and a wide variety of sub-genres.

[Michael Norwitz · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty, well-illustrated coffee-table book tracking the history of the American art from from the 1890s-1990s. Not the place to go for in-depth musical analysis, but it covers a broad range well enough that it inspires some sonic investigation.

[Andrew Corsini · Rating 5 out of 5]

The stellar photographs make this book essential; it's like you can smell the cigarette smoke and taste the whiskey where these shots were taken. Jazz, unlike any other kind of music, conjures up a specific time and place; that was certainly the impression I got from this book.

[Bjm Index]

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