The History of Jazz by Ted Gioia
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Book Reviews of The History of Jazz
Book Review: Excellent Survey of a Very Broad Subject
Summary: 5 Stars
The "History of Jazz" is a very well written survey of a very extensive subject. I consider myself pretty knowledgeable on the subject of jazz (or at least, certain periods and styles), and even with my reasonably good background, I learned a tremendous amount about the art form that I love. I particularly appreciated the sociological and historical implications that the author provided for various movements, trends and changes.
I would caution any potential readers that this book is pretty dense--chock full of names and dates--and at times, reads like an encyclopedia. So it may be hard to expect to just read it through, start to finish. That is what I did, but it required liberal breaks in between, and took me much longer to get through than it would typically take for a 400 page book.
In the future, I plan on focusing my jazz reading on periods and schools that particularly interest me--like bebop and cool jazz. I am confident that the backdrop this book has provided will prove invaluable for those future forays.
Book Review: 2nd edition suggestions ???
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a great book and deserves 5 stars.
Something I didn't see mentioned is how recording technology affected Jazz.
It seems to me that it affected Jazz a great deal. When electrical recordings becames available instead of acoustical recordings, the bass replaced the tuba among other changes as far as I know. Also, vinyl records went from 78 to 45 to 33 rpm. This had a great impact as well. Sure, Bean was overpowering with his 3 minute solos in the 30's but then Coltrane went on with much longer solos that wouldn't have fit on 1 side of a 45 rpm. Does anybody else but I think that maybe hard bop for example wouldn't have taken off if the longer solos couldn't have been recorded?
This is my only suggestion for the 2nd edition! Aside from that, this book is quite remarkable. I can't think of how the author stitched all the pieces together (unless he wrote it in 1 stride!). It seemed quite seamless.
Book Review: Well-judged, elegantly written, first-rate history of jazz
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a first-rate history. Gioia writes with authority, but never distances the reader. Like an Ellingtonian suite, he structures the history of jazz in discernible movements and counter-movements that each evolve organically from their predecessors, while avoiding a mere chronology. Gioia gracefully executes the narrative in a tone that never exaggerates unnecessarily, and always judiciously considers and evaluates the place of each figure, style, instrument, movement, band, label and of course, important recordings and their influence. Gioia inevitably has his preferences, but he is far from prejudiced. This makes him a valuable commentator that should please fans and artists alike. Gioia's book is a major work which will become a standard account of the history of jazz and should be on everybody's reading list.Book Review: fills in many gaps
Summary: 5 Stars
I have read practically every jazz history book that was published in the past 50 years. Some, such as the seminal "Blues People", do a great job of exposing the socio - political aspects of the music and its makers. Others did a thorough job of detailing the events that were connected to the music. Gioia is the first that I know of to give as much attention to the social aspects as well as the musical and chronological aspects. I teach a Jazz and Politics course in the university (PoliSci dept) and Gioia's book helped me in some of the issues I needed to raise. It is still not the ultimate book - this has to written, but it is a big step forward in Jazz writing and a must for every student of the music.Book Review: A Truly Great Book!
Summary: 5 Stars
I have listened to jazz for over 30 years. I thought I knew the history of jazz quite well, but was throroughly impressed with the careful attention to detail in Gioia's book. I learned something new on nearly every page. Gioia covers everything from the early beginnings of jazz as well as Free Jazz. What most impressed me about his style is how he was unbiased toward or against any of the movements. This book inspired me to dig deeper into Dixieland and become more open to Cecil Taylor. I highly recommend this to someone just starting the journey of listening to America's greatest music or to someone who has enjoyed listening to jazz for years!