Jazz ABZ: An A to Z Collection of Jazz Portraits
by Wynton Marsalis
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Book Summary Information
Author: Wynton MarsalisIllustrator: Paul Rogers
Contributor: Phil Schaap
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2005-10-25
ISBN: 0763621358
Number of pages: 76
Publisher: Candlewick
Book Reviews of Jazz ABZ: An A to Z Collection of Jazz Portraits
Book Review: a wonderful book
Summary: 5 Stars
Before I post my review, I'd like to make a correction to amazon's book information which states this book is for ages 4 to 8. Jazz ABZ would work extremely well in a high school or college jazz history class, and would be a hip coffee table book gift for a jazz fan, but it's not for young children!
This is a visually stunning and brilliantly written book. The first page instantly grabs you: it has a large round hole in the center to resemble a classic lp record sleeve. The second page is a glossy black picture of a record with the author information listed on the record label.
Wynton Marsalis collaborated with artist Paul Rogers to create this beautiful book. They selected famous jazz musicians for each letter of the alphabet. Marsalis wrote poems using a variety of poetic forms to fit each musician's unique playing/composing style. Many of the poems were written while Marsalis was touring, and he read and refined them with the other musicians on the bus or plane during the course of their travels. While Marsalis has very strong opinions about other jazz musicians (the PBS Ken Burns series, while interesting, was essentially "Jazz According to Wynton"), he keeps his opinionated and didactic sides at bay and focuses on the task at hand with this book.
Jazz ABZ is a book that assumes its readers have a decent understanding of jazz terms and forms. For this reason, it's not appropriate for elementary school readers (unless they have an unusually advanced understanding of this music). Imagine reading "Couldn't he just keep on cascading through closely clustered chord changes, cartwheeling through complex, careening, chromatic calculations?" to introduce third graders to the music of John Coltrane... I think not. Most of the poems work well with the illustrations and the different musician's personalities and music. The back of the book includes excellent short biographical sketches of each musician by Phil Schaap. Highly recommended.
Summary of Jazz ABZ: An A to Z Collection of Jazz Portraits
In a swinging improvisation with poster artist Paul Rogers, Wynton Marsalis celebrates the spirit of twenty-six stellar jazz performers, from Armstrong to Dizzy ? and showcases the same number of poetic forms.A is for "almighty" Louis Armstrong, whose amazing artistry unfolds in an accumulative poem shaped like the letter he stands for. As for sax master Sonny Rollins, whose "robust style radiates roundness," could there be a better tribute than a poetic rondeau? In an extraordinary feat, Pulitzer Prize-winning jazz composer Wynton Marsalis harmonizes his love and knowledge of jazz's most celebrated artists with an astounding diversity of poetic forms ? from simple blues (Count Basie) to a complex pantoum (Charlie Parker), from a tender sonnet (Sarah Vaughan) to a performance poem snapping the rhythms of Art Blakey to life.
Matching Wynton Marsalis's musical cadences note for note is the bold, poster-style art of Paul Rogers, highlighted in two phenomenal foldout spreads. The art's vibrant nostalgic feel is echoed in an exquisite design, with its size simulating an old 78 LP and its endpapers die-cut to mimic a vintage record sleeve. Complete with a discography and brief biographies of the featured musicians as well as notes on the various poetic forms, this is truly an incomparable gift book ? for older children learning about jazz, longtime jazz aficionados, lovers of poetry, and readers of all ages who appreciate the finest in book design.
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