Jazz

A History of America's Music

By: Geoffrey C. Ward, Ken Burns

Narrated by: LeVar Burton

A masterpiece that brings to life the fascinating story of the quintessential American music—jazz. Visually stunning, with more than five hundred photographs, this companion volume to the acclaimed ten-part PBS TV series is an exploration of the music that celebrates all Americans at their best.

Here are the stories of the extraordinary men and women who made the music: Louis Armstrong, the fatherless waif whose unrivaled genius helped turn jazz into a soloist's art and influenced every singer, every instrumentalist who came after him; Duke Ellington, the pampered son of middle-class parents who turned a whole orchestra into his personal instrument, wrote nearly two thousand pieces for it, and captured more of American life than any other composer. Bix Beiderbecke, the doomed cornet prodigy who showed white musicians that they too could make an important contribution to the music; Benny Goodman, the immigrants' son who learned the clarinet to help feed his family, but who grew up to teach a whole country how to dance; Billie Holiday, whose distinctive style routinely transformed mediocre music into great art; Charlie Parker, who helped lead a musical revolution, only to destroy himself at thirty-four; and Miles Davis, whose search for fresh ways to sound made him the most influential jazz musician of his generation, and then led him to abandon jazz altogether. Buddy Bolden, Jelly Roll Morton, Dizzy Gillespie, Art Tatum, Count Basie, Dave Brubeck, Artie Shaw, and Ella Fitzgerald are all here; so are Sidney Bechet, Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, and a host of others.

But Jazz is more than mere biography. The history of the music echoes the history of twentieth-century America. Jazz provided the background for the giddy era that F. Scott Fitzgerald called the Jazz Age. The irresistible pulse of big-band swing lifted the spirits and boosted American morale during the Great Depression and World War II. The virtuosic, demanding style called bebop mirrored the stepped-up pace and dislocation that came with peace. During the Cold War era, jazz served as a propaganda weapon—and forged links with the burgeoning counterculture. The story of jazz encompasses the story of American courtship and show business; the epic growth of great cities—New Orleans and Chicago, Kansas City and New York—and the struggle for civil rights and simple justice that continues into the new millennium.©2000 by The Jazz Film Project, Inc.; (P)2000 Random House, Inc. Random House AudioBooks, A Division of Random House, Inc.

Appreciate your music collection more!

Blown away by the full story of the music I’ve enjoyed listening to since the mid-90’s. If you love jazz, you will hear it more deeply after listening to this narrative. Levar Burton’s reading is spot on, with “just right” voicings for Louis Armstrong & Miles.

loved it

great great book. Very comprehensive, particularly in the early years. It put together a history that I had not quite been aware of. Highly recommended.

Loved it then and now.

Initially I read this book while struggling to finish a music degree, now years later I loved going through it again as it inspires me to continue teaching music.

Fantastic book and loved, loved the narration

I thought I was playing this for my musician husband to enjoy, but I was so taken with the story and the excellent narration that I stayed up to the wee hours, enthralled by the fascinating details of the lives and music of so many of the jazz greats.
One of my fave non-fiction books ever! Thanks for the wonderful and fascinating journey!

Good content but reading not clear

The book is very interesting, but I find it hard to follow: the reader drops his voice at the end of sentences or phrases, often does not pronounce names clearly, and does not pause at major transitions. I find myself needing to backspace the player to try to hear something I missed, often without success.