Originating in the port city of New Orleans where musical cultures from around the world came together, jazz music<\/a><\/strong> developed when western instruments such as the saxophone<\/a> and trumpet met the rhythms and improvisation from Africa\u2026 and has never looked back.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s our guide to the best books about jazz<\/p>\n Alyn Shipton<\/i><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Interweaving a musical autobiography with a series of accounts of meetings with remarkable jazz musicians is clearly a good idea if you happen to be Alyn Shipton, the respected jazz writer, researcher, broadcaster etc. He\u2019s spent time on the bandstand as a bassist, too, so what could possibly go wrong?<\/span><\/p>\n Happily, nothing does, which is to the author\u2019s immense credit given that encounters chronicled in a book of this kind can all too easily fall into the egocentric rut of famous-musicians-who-met-me. Shipton elegantly eschews this, despite not unreasonably being at the centre of this tightly packed yet highly readable narrative that charts his own life from his earliest encounters with music via his experiences in New Orleans to his subsequent multi-faceted career. <\/span><\/p>\n Instead, the interview\/chat sections come with just enough scene-setting exposition to allow Shipton to defer to his subjects, meaning that we hear them rather than him. Said subjects are a who\u2019s who of jazz, ranging from Mack \u2018Dr John\u2019 Rebennack and trumpeter Doc Cheatham via Milt Jackson and Sonny Rollins to Gwyneth Herbert. Detailed, lucid and engaging. Roger\u00a0Thomas<\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n John Altman<\/i><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n You get the feeling that John Altman can\u2019t believe his luck. As a session player, saxophonist, arranger, producer, bandleader, conductor and film composer, the British musician has had (and is still enjoying) quite the career. But you\u2019d be forgiven for not having ever heard of him \u2013 hence the book\u2019s title. <\/span><\/p>\n You also get the feeling that this veritable musical polymath has been bursting to share these stories of celebrity encounters and no small amount of hard work \u2013 such is the life of a jobbing musician. He begins by telling of the time he was accused of being a flagrant \u2018name dropper\u2019, yet it would be hard for Altman to share his story without including the who\u2019s who of music and pop culture royalty who have played their own part in his career.<\/span><\/p>\n From George Harrison and Van Morrison to Bj\u00f6rk and Monty Python, it\u2019s a gallery of stars, not to mention a breathless (and sometimes exhausting) recollection of late-night jam sessions, number one hits and a memorable life in music. Michael Beek<\/i>\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Wolfgang Sandner; \u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span>Trans. Chris Jarrett<\/i><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n This is an updated translation of the original 2015 German edition and is very welcome on this and several other counts. Jarrett\u2019s declining health has forced him to retire from public performance, so this detailed discussion of the pianist\u2019s recorded legacy, and the appended discography, are particularly welcome; though both are poignant reminders that this will now be the only way to hear his music.<\/span><\/p>\n That said, this is by no means just a book for record collectors. The author presents an informative and detailed account of Jarrett\u2019s early life, then goes on to integrate all the varied aspects of his career into a coherent whole: his development as an artist, the choices he made and the choices that were forced upon him by circumstance, his interaction with other musicians and the roles they played in the pianist\u2019s music. The writing clunks occasionally, such as when the pianist is described as having \u2018drunk from the mysterious goblet of the druid Thelonious [Monk],\u2019 but Sandner\u2019s critical rigour more than makes up for that. Sammy Stein<\/i><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n \u2018Women are hot right now\u2019, the opening line of Women in Jazz<\/i> reads. Gender equality is discussed in all industries, it argues, except jazz.<\/span><\/p>\n Stein dedicates the book\u2019s first half to significant female musicians from history. Deftly navigating the intersections of race and feminism, these biographies are, for the most part, thorough and well researched.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The book\u2019s main thesis then starts to lose its way, with a series of lengthy interviews with artists, radio hosts and promoters. It\u2019s refreshing to see these behind-the-scenes voices given a platform, but many make sweeping claims about complex issues, which are left unexamined. There is little concrete evidence to back up the unsubstantiated claims of both the author and contributors, and with no bibliography or referencing, any cited research loses credibility.<\/span><\/p>\n A tighter edit is needed throughout, with misjudged syntax, repetition, missing accents and spelling errors throughout. I was surprised, for instance, to discover that Aretha Franklin performed at Martin Luther\u2019s funeral.<\/span><\/p>\n Women in Jazz<\/i> is a book with good intentions but is proof of the importance of a firm editing hand, particularly when dealing with such nuanced issues. Freya Parr\u00a0<\/i><\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Philip Clark<\/i><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nBest jazz books at a glance<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Best books about jazz<\/h2>\n
On Jazz \u2013 A Personal Journey<\/span><\/h3>\n
Hidden Man \u2013 My Many Musical Lives\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n
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Keith Jarrett \u2013 A Biography<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Women in Jazz<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Dave Brubeck \u2013 A Life in Time<\/span><\/h3>\n
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