Jazz: From its Origins to the Present

by Lewis Porter, Michael Ullman, Edward Hazell

This entertaining one-volume comprehensive history of jazz and the artists who made it popular contains musical examples so that students who do not read music will not be inhibited. Combines a rich detail of the origins of jazz with insightful biographies and contributions of jazz legends, including Duke Ellington, Count Bassie, Charlie Parker, Miles Davies, John Coltrane, and the jazz bands of the 30's, 40's, 50's, and 60's. Ideal for for all Introduction to Jazz and Jazz History courses in Music, as well as African-American Studies, and the 20th Century American Studies at the undergraduate level.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction

512 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1992

Reviews

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve never been so happy to have been assigned to read something that I probably would never have read on my own. I learned so much about jazz music and learned to appreciate it more than any other style of music.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meticulous and comprehensive.
Written with great care, love, and accuracy.

Love the discography at the end, organizing all of the recommended listening in a chapter by chapter chronicle.

Legalize cannabis and combine the two (jazz and cannabis) to enhance both!

Props to Miles Davis, Pat Metheny, Maynard Fergusen, Chicago, Herbie Hancock and Jazz is Dead.

[Chris Mcmullen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a great account of Jazz and its evolution from birth to present day. The book includes biographies of major artists, in-depth descriptions of certain eras and even snippets of sheet music to show how new styles of notation, meter, and rhythm were introduced throughout the evolution of Jazz. The downside of the book is that it covers everything and therefore doesn't really give the true sense of each specific artist and/or phase of the genre. That being said, it is a terrific tool to get yourself familiar with the genre in you know nothing about it. Its a great way to see the general history and how it has evolved through time. It also gives lots of song suggestions so that you can actually connect the things being described in the book to the actual sounds that have resulted from the genre.

As a writer, I didn't really learn much. The book is heavily biographical and factual. So, if anything, I learned how to present things in a linear fashion and how to connect events to a main idea.