The Knowledge: Jazz by John Fordham

by John Fordham

Introducing a new series of information-led pocket guides aimed at demystifying a wide and eclectic range of subjects. Called The knowledge each book within the series is written by an expert in the field providing a lively, and informative, introduction to their respective topic. The jazz why has an art that has so transformed the world's music in barely 100 years, remained so widely misunderstood? Jazz shines light on the subject for those intrigued by its influence and creativity, but also mystified by its occasionally esoteric habits. From charting the first wave of jazz to breaking down its full history, Jazz will lead you from the form's African-American slave origins to the individuals who shaped the most innovative musical genre of the 20th century.

Genres: Nonfiction, Music

Unknown Binding

First published June 4, 2015

About the author

John Fordham is a British jazz critic and writer. For the illustrator see John Fordham (with two space characters) between first and last name.

Reviews

[John Naylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best knowledge imparted here is a start to research further into the history of jazz. The book does not go into great detail about any performer nor style but gives the names and eras that you can look further into. It also has a recommended playlist for many significant artists at the back of the book.

My only real negative is that some of the text is on grey pages and quite hard to read.

I recommend this as a starting point for those interested in jazz.

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting view on someone who has begun to educate them in jazz, whilst educating the reader as well. The main thing I found this book useful for was playlists - look through all the tracks and pick out some you like, that way you can educate yourself via playlists opposed to just reading more (though reading more doesn't hurt - it is actually quite interesting) I am looking forward to reading more on the genre after picking up this book, which clarified a lot of things for me and also got me really excited about music again, which is definitely a symptom of a good book - when everything it says gets you thinking; gets you to make that connection between thinking and learning to creating and actually doing something with the content you have accessed, gained and accomplished. Not a bad read for something I actually picked up by accident - looking forward to being equally fascinated by the other random topics the rest of this series will hopefully have to offer.