Jazz For Dummies

by Dirk Sutro

Includes a list of more than 100 recordings for your jazz collection


The fun and easy way to explore the world of jazz

Jazz is America's greatest music, but with over a century's worth of styles and artists, where do you begin? Relax! This hep cat's guide delivers the scoop on the masters and their music -- from Duke Ellington to Charlie Parker to Wynton Marsalis. It's just what you need to tune in to the history and musical structure of jazz and become a more savvy listener.

Discover how to
* Understand the traits and roots of jazz
* Tune in to jazz styles, from big band to bebop
* Listen to great jazz artists
* Catch a live jazz performance
* Succeed in a jazz ensemble

Praise for Jazz For Dummies

"Now you can finally know about one of . . . America's greatest contributions to world culture."
--Jon Faddis, jazz trumpeter

"Fun to read. . . . An important stepping stone to understanding this complex and profound music."
--James Moody, jazz saxophonist

"Dirk Sutro is madly in love with jazz and . . . he knows what he's talking about."
--"Chubby" Jackson, jazz bassist

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Jazz, Reference, How To

384 pages, Paperback

First published September 16, 1998

Reviews

[Bill Kerwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is what it is.

If you know nothing, you'll learn a lot. I already know a lot, and I learned something.

[Christopher · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dirk Sutro's JAZZ FOR DUMMIES aims to introduce the genre to neophytes. It unfortunately suffers from the flaws of both a kitchen-sink approach, padding the book with irrelevant material, and some major oversights. Note that with the second edition the book no longer comes with a CD.

Sutro covers the major jazz figures from the hazy beginnings in New Orleans up to Miles Davis' proteges. I was aghast, however, to see Sutro completely overlook the ECM scene. How can you write a general introduction to jazz without mentioning Keith Jarrett or Jan Garbarek, two of the best-selling jazz artists from the 1970s on? He mentions Wynton Marsalis, but none of the controversy over his strict definition of jazz and exclusion of non-African-Americans from the canon. There are also some factual errors here, as when he claims that Schoenberg, Webern and Berg pioneered microtonal writing, setting the way for a strain of jazz, when in fact the innovation of the Second Viennese School was using 12-tone rows with only semitone steps.

The section on building up a jazz collection is better, with a list of recommended recordings and some pointers to audio equipment. However, some of its advice is lame. In talking about buying headphones, for instance, Sutro says "Ask the salesperson at the local audio store which headphones are best for your needs," when the salesperson is probably just going to recommend whatever gets him the most commission.

While most people buying JAZZ FOR DUMMIES will undoubtedly be music listeners who want to find inroads to this important but sometimes difficult genre, too much of the book is dedicated to jazz performance and recording and sales techniques. In a difficult market for record sells, would anyone be willing to take the advice of a book like this and an author with no experience in the field for how to market his music? Finally, an entire chapter is dedicated to how to play jazz to impress your friends at parties, and I hate to see this great music used for such snobbish reasons when it is so fascinating for its musical value.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read a couple of reviews of this book that gave it low marks for not including [esoteric jazz point clearly very important to reviewer]. Well, I do have to say that if you have esoteric jazz points you feel must be included in an introduction to jazz, you're probably past the "for Dummies" stage already. But if (like me) your knowledge of jazz is basically "Um, Benny Goodman and...Miles Davis played the trumpet, right? And then...um...Wynton Marsalis?" this is an excellent book for you!

The most important thing I got out of the book (beyond an impressive list of music and books to look up) was a better appreciation of the emotion behind jazz, the reasons why it's a unique form of music and the reasons why people value and cherish it so much. The author explains what to look for and appreciate in jazz with clarity and passion, and by the end of the book I had learned a lot and I wanted to know more. That seems like the definition of success in a "for Dummies" book to me.

[Andy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't like this book. Maybe jazz is harder to write about than other things? I don't know. I'd rather read the Owner's Manual to my new car than read this. I didn't learn much about any of the musicians from reading it. I didn't understand why musicians might enjoy playing jazz any better after reading it. Much better as far as I'm concerned is the Ken Burns series about jazz. JFD isn't even much to applaud as a reference.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well researched book on Jazz for dummies like myself, but found myself skimming through and just reading on some of the many mentioned names and short profiles. My listening skills changed with decades gone by to jazz, namely Nancy Wilson. A decade or two ago I wouldn't be caught listening to Jazz and, it's like a new found love--blame it on Nancy.

The book also mentions the many instruments and origins of the same. Just was not what I expected and the 3 stars is mainly due to the background research and a cd disk; otherwise a two star.

[JDK1962 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, sort of a very light version on Gioia's The History of Jazz. There's a certain amount of fluff (e.g., throwing a jazz dinner party), and material that's so surface-level that it probably ought not be there (e.g., learning to play an instrument). But the thing I found most annoying were the constant parentheticals (e.g., "I cover this in Chapter X" and "See Chapter Y for mor e detail on this"). Dude, that's what an index is for: stop interrupting the flow to tell me that you told me about something earlier, or that you're going to tell me something else later.

I found this a good book to read a few pages of each night before bed.

[Rich · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has been on my shelf for... maybe 20 years. It's not a good book- mostly just listing important jazz players and facts about their life. I enjoyed the wonderfully outdated chapter about choosing between CDs, LPs, and cassette tapes. This would be a 1-star book, except for the excellent lists of recommended jazz albums. I'm having a lot of fun working my way through the lists and listening to the music.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great Jazz primer.

[David Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book I read to research this post was Jazz For Dummies which is an excellent book which I bought on kobo. This book covers the history of jazz from its roots in Africa where they had their own musical instruments and many of the people who were taken as slaves to the USA where skilled in playing these instruments. It looks at how jazz developed in the 20th century and the different genres like be-bop, blues & even acid jazz. There is plenty of information on the most musicians and lots of examples of their best albums. I really enjoyed this book. It also looks at the future of jazz and their is information on key cities in its development & jazz festivals. One interesting fact is that the slaves were often highly trained in music. Some of the big mansions in the American South would have orchestras to entertain the people who lived there. Many of the black slaves were sent to college to study classical music. Many of the ones trained in music were taught the violin which is why that instrument often features in jazz music. Also around that time Adolphe Sax, a belgian invented the saxophone & many slaves were trained to play that as it became a fashionable instrument. New Orleans was at the heart of jazz as many of the slaves arrived at the port there. One of the interesting things about the style of jazz is they often bend notes which it impossible to play certain pieces on a piano. Also they often subdivide notes so you will often get notes that are part one octave and part another. Jazz has been used in many film scores probably quite notably Taxi Driver & Anatomy of a Murder. Jazz was often influenced by things like classical music but the classical composers were also influenced by jazz in their work. Later things like samba and other South American beats in particular influenced jazz. There is a quite modern musical instrument called the EWI or Electronic Wind Instrument which is often used in modern jazz. I must admit I have a spotify account, an online music service & I can't wait to search for some jazz legends on their and play them.

[Irwan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of course, i have heard jazz music! Who doesn't? FYI, I love it though. But a few years back, there was a time when I realized how difficult it was to talk about it in words. Especially about why it was different from other types of music. This book may come handy for you who is newly interested in jazz music. I remember it had pointers to further listening and reading.
Jazz up your life!

[Galih Satria · Rating 2 out of 5]

Saya pikir saya akan menemukan banyak not balok dan teori-teori interval musik jazz di sini. Ternyata buku ini berisi essay tentang sejarah musik jazz. Lengkap dari A sampai Z, tetapi bukan buku untuk berlatih melainkan untuk menambah wawasan.