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Jazz and its colorful, expansive history resonate in this unique collection of 60 essays specially-commissioned from today's top jazz performers, writers, and scholars, including Bill Crow, Gerald Early, Samuel A. Floyd Jr., Ted Gioia, Gene Lees, Max Morath, Dan Morgenstern, Gunther Schuller, Richard M. Sudhalter, and Patricia Willard. Both a reference book and an engaging read, this Companion surveys the evolution of jazz from its roots in Africa and Europe to today. Along the way, each distinctive style and period is profiled by an expert in the field. Whether your preference is ragtime, the blues, bebop, or fusion, you will find the chief characteristics and memorable performances illuminated here with a thoroughness found in no other single-volume jazz reference. The Oxford Companion to Jazz features individual biographies of the most memorable characters of this relatively young art form. Sidney Bechet, King Oliver, Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong, Bix Beiderbecke, Bessie Smith, Duke Ellington, Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus, John Coltrane, and the divas of jazz song--Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and Sarah Vaughan--come to life in thoughtful considerations of their influences, often turbulent personal lives, and signature styles. In addition, this book looks at the impact of jazz on American culture--literature, film, television, and dance--and explores the essential instruments of jazz and their most memorable players. Looking beyond the U.S., the commissioned jazz authorities also consider its profound interaction with the music of Brazil, Latin America, Europe, Japan, Africa, and Canada and Australia. Authoritative and concise, The Oxford Companion to Jazz provides a quick reference source as well as a dynamic and broad overview for all lovers of jazz, from novices to aficionados.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 799-806) and indexes.
African roots of jazz -- European roots of jazz -- Ragtime then and now -- The early origins of jazz -- New York roots: Black Broadway, James Reese Europe, early pianists -- The blues in jazz -- Bessie Smith -- King Oliver, Jelly Roll Morton, and Sidney Bechet: Ménage à trois, New Orleans style -- Louis Armstrong -- Bix Beiderbecke -- Duke Ellington -- Hot music in the 1920s: the "Jazz Age," appearances and realities -- Pianists of the 1920s and 1930s -- Coleman Hawkins -- Lester Young -- Streamlining jazz: major soloists of the 1930s and 1940s -- Jazz singing: between blues and bebop --Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, and Billie Holiday -- Jazz and the American song -- Pre-swing era big bands and jazz composing and arranging -- Swing era big bands and jazz composing and arranging -- The advent of bebop -- The New Orleans revival -- Charlie Parker -- Cool jazz and West Coast jazz -- Jazz and classical music: to the third stream and beyond -- Pianists of the 1940s and 1950s -- Hard bop -- Miles Davis -- Big bands and jazz composing and arranging after World War II -- Thelonius Monk and Charles Mingus -- John Coltrane -- The avant-garde, 1949-1967 -- Pianists of the 1960s and 1970s -- Jazz singing since the 1940s -- Jazz since 1968 -- Fusion -- Jazz repertory -- Latin jazz -- Jazz in Europe: the real world music or the full circle -- Jazz and Brazilian music -- Jazz in Africa: the ins and outs -- Jazz in Japan -- Jazz in Canada and Australia -- The clarinet in jazz -- The saxophone in jazz -- The trumpet in jazz -- The trombone in jazz -- The electric guitar and vibraphone in jazz: batteries not included -- Miscellaneous instruments in jazz -- The bass in jazz -- Jazz drumming -- Jazz and dance -- Jazz and film and television -- Jazz clubs --Jazz and American literature -- Jazz criticism -- Jazz education -- Recorded jazz -- Jazz improvisation and concepts of virtuosity.
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Library Journal Review
For this chronological guide, Oxford commissioned 61 incredibly diverse critics and scholars to expound on such topics as jazz genres/styles, the blues' influence on jazz, significant time periods, major innovators and stylists, individual instruments, jazz criticism, jazz and American literature, jazz education, and jazz in film and television. Much of the material is descriptive, and only the last chapter is devoted to the process of playing and improvisingDwhich is odd, considering improvisation's importance. Kirchner (jazz and history, New School Univ.) should have devoted more coverage to the formal aspects of creating jazz because new listeners often have no conception of what is involved in improvisation. Except for Patricia Willard's entry on vocalists Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and Sarah Vaughn, women's contributions are unfortunately slighted. The book would have also benefited from a list of references and featured songs at the end of each chapter. Despite these drawbacks, this work is an effective single-volume device, leading current listeners to the music while including enough newer scholarship to retain the interest of connoisseurs. Recommended for academic, public, and music libraries.DWilliam G. Kenz, Minnesota State Univ., Moorhead (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
CHOICE Review
Kirchner's hefty companion comprises 60 articles by 59 authors. Probably in large part due to the exceptional reputation established by the Oxford University Press in the literature of jazz over the past few decades, Kirchner managed to enlist many of the finest writers in the field to contribute to this volume. Essay topics range from the major figures of the music (for example, Armstrong, Ellington, Parker, Davis, Coltrane) to coverage of the players of individual instruments (trombone, electric guitar, bass, clarinet) to specific historical and stylistic areas (hard bop, third stream, avant-garde, fusion, Latin jazz). Essays extend to jazz in Europe, Africa, and Japan, famous jazz clubs, jazz education, and numerous other topics. The joy of reading this book comes from the authoritative essays by major writers--Dan Morgenstern, John McDonough, Gunther Schuller, Mark Tucker, Scott DeVeaux, to mention just a representative handful. The companion is not a history, per se, and of c ourse it consists of many diverse voices. For all serious jazz collections, both general and academic. K. R. Dietrich Ripon College
Booklist Review
This new collection of 60 essays surveys the entire history of jazz and purports to contain "a thoroughness found in no other single jazz reference." The essays, written by 59 current jazz performers, writers, and scholars, are much longer than the typical Oxford Companion entry. The average length is 13 pages, although the range is anywhere from 7 to 22 pages. There is one black-and-white photograph per article. The essays provide overviews of different styles and periods. Other topics include the roots of jazz, biographies of performers, examinations of individual jazz instruments, an analysis of the impact of jazz on American culture, and a discussion of jazz outside the U.S. Arrangement is loosely chronological. Does this volume rival the 1,358-page New Grove Dictionary of Jazz (1988) for the title of "most comprehensive dictionary of jazz ever published" ? Possibly. Although the New Grove Dictionary of Jazz is arguably more reference-friendly because of its alphabetical arrangement and see also references, the Oxford book has an excellent index. However, because of the essay format, it is sometimes difficult to find information on a specific performer or term. For this reason, some libraries may wish to consider putting this volume in the circulating rather than in the reference collection. The scope of the New Grove Dictionary of Jazz and the Oxford Companion to Jazz is similar, although Grove offers unique, unparalleled coverage of jazz nightclubs, festivals, and libraries and archives with significant jazz collections. Unlike Grove, which provides bibliographies and selected recordings at the end of individual entries, Oxford only offers a selected bibliography at the back of the book and an "Index of Songs and Recordings" to facilitate finding where a song is discussed in an essay. Though Grove was reprinted in 1994, it was not updated. The Oxford book includes a greater number of recent jazz artists. In an informal search for 27 current jazz artists, 50 percent of them were mentioned in Oxford, while only 25 percent were found in Grove. For example, Grove appears to exclude drummers Joey Baron and Dennis Chambers, trumpeter Dave Douglas, and more-mainstream musicians like Joshua Redman and Jo Lovano, all of whom are mentioned in Oxford. Some of the current artists also appear in another Oxford publication, Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999). Libraries with a jazz collection will find this new volume a welcome addition, whether its purpose is to act as a reference resource or provide insightful stack reading. According to Kirchner, the intended audience is everyone, from novices to seasoned jazz aficionados; the book does indeed have a wide range of appeal. Some of the essays are downright scholarly, while others are less erudite in tone (though not in content). Recommended for all university, college, and public libraries with patrons interested in jazz.
