Jazz (GIDDINS - DEVEAUX)

In this beautifully written and scrupulously researched history, Gary Giddins and Scott DeVeaux trace the development of jazz from its nineteenth-century roots-folk music and blues, dance music and ragtime, minstrelsy and marching bands-to the vibrant scene that captivates audiences the world over today. As diverse and complex as America itself, jazz has embodied the travails and triumphs of musicians struggling for work, respect, and cultural acceptance for more than a century. This long-awaited, evocative work places all the major innovators and their vital contributions within the larger context of American history, presenting jazz as a force that continues to both influence and reflect the ever-changing cultural, social, economic, and political climates in which we find ourselves today.

Jazz illuminates America’s classical music as never before, with more than seventy-five listening guides of classic masterworks and lesser-known gems, each a collective signature of pioneering composition and inspired performance, giving you a privileged seat in the bandstand. From the very beginning, you can feel the music as performers do, and see them in action through the lens of celebrated photographer Herman Leonard and others, in thirty-eight stunning photographs that capture the spirit and the settings of jazz.

Giddins and DeVeaux combine intellectual bite and
unprecedented insight with the passion of unabashed fans. A page-turnerthat will delight and enthrall experts and novices alike, this is the definitive story of jazz.