Anthologies and Reference Books
These books gather articles and writings on jazz, and provide good reference information for starting a research project. If no library is specified in the call number, the book is available at the Institute of Jazz Studies.
Living with Jazz by Call Number: ML3507.M67 2004ISBN: 037542072XPublication Date: 2004-11-16Dan Morgenstern, winner of six Grammy's, previous Downbeat editor, and former Director of the Institute of Jazz Studies, brings together all of his significant work in Living with Jazz..
Jazz on Record by Call Number: ML156.4.J3Y36 2003ISBN: 0879307552Publication Date: 2003-10-01In this comprehensive, 860-page resource, Scott Yanow traces the history of jazz through its recordings. Yanow describes thousands of CDs and LPs and points out the performances most emblematic of the big names in jazz as well as what albums should be considered essential to a complete jazz record collection.
The Chronicle of Jazz by Call Number: ML3506.C47 1998ISBN: 0789203995Publication Date: 1998-02-01Beginning at the turn of the century, The Chronicle of Jazz charts the evolution of jazz from its roots in Africa and the southern United States to the myriad styles heard around the world today. The book looks closely at how jazz has influenced -- and been influenced by -- other musical and artistic forms. Each chronologically arranged section contains special features on topics ranging from the individual qualities of the bass clarinet and the jazz scene in Paris to personality sketches and seminal gigs. Cross references throughout point to related motifs, people, and music, and a complete reference section at the back contains an extensive discography, a glossary, biographies, a bibliography, and an index.
PLEASE NOTE: A new edition of this book is available through Douglass Library.
The Oxford Companion to Jazz by Call Number: ML3507.O94 2000ISBN: 019512510XPublication Date: 2000-10-19This collection gathers sixty essays commissioned from jazz performers, writers, and scholars. Contributors include Bill Crow, Samuel A. Floyd Jr., Ted Gioia, Gene Lees, Dan Morgenstern, Gunther Schuller, Richard M. Sudhalter, and Patricia Willard. The Companion surveys the evolution of jazz from its roots in Africa and Europe until the present. Along the way, each style and period is profiled by an expert in the field. The Oxford Companion to Jazz features individual biographies of many significant performers and considers the impact of jazz on American culture and explores the primary instruments in jazz and their most memorable players.
Reading Jazz 1917-1995 by Call Number: ML3507.R44 1996ISBN: 0679442510Publication Date: 1996-11-12Displaying keen intellectual discernment and great passion, Robert Gottlieb, former president of Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., and former editor of The New Yorker, brings together more than 150 excerpts from books, journals, magazines, and newspapers, creating a monumental anthology of essays about jazz--the life and the music--and rescuing many an important but neglected writer from oblivion.
Collected Works on Jazz, 1957-1998 by Call Number: ML3508 .B335 2000ISBN: 0312202881Publication Date: 2000-12-01As jazz critic for The New Yorker magazine from 1957 until 2001, and the author of fifteen books, Whitney Balliett (1926-2007) spent a lifetime listening to and writing about jazz. Collected Works: A Journal of Jazz gathers many of his writings into one volume.
Jazz 101 by Call Number: MT146.S94 2000ISBN: 0786884967Publication Date: 2000-08-23Szwed's guide tells the history of jazz with analysis of key figures, some rudiments of music, a discography, and a bibliography.
Jazz by Call Number: ROBESON ML3508.D473 2011ISBN: 9780393935639Publication Date: 2010-12-22Jazz: Essential Listening combines listening examples with narrative history to explain what jazz is, where it came from, how it works, and who created it, all within the broader context of American life and culture.
General Jazz Discographies
These discographies provide reasonably comprehensive information about jazz recordings within the limits of any particular discography author's definition of "jazz." (To learn more about the history of jazz discography and how authors have negotiated the discographical boundaries of the genre, read the article, "Lord of the Disco", by Bob Porter.)
Jazz discographies are typically arranged alphabetically by the leader under whose name the recording was originally issued. Within each artist entry, sessions are arranged chronologically. Each entry generally includes: recording date, place of recording, album title(s) if applicable, track title(s), personnel and instruments, matrix and take numbers, record label, and the album or single's catalog number. The basic general discographies are:
The Jazz Discography by Tom Lord
This online database, formerly printed in 34 volumes, provides the most comprehensive general jazz discography currently available, with frequent updates and coverage extending back to 1896. The database is available to Rutgers users with a NetID or on campus at a public computer terminal.
- 70 years of recorded jazz byCall Number: ML156.4.J3B852Publication Date: 1987-2002?Many of Walter Bruyninckx's numerous discographies are available at the Institute, including both the seventy-year volume, as well as Sixty Years of Recorded Jazz. Another version is divided into six series by style/ period: Traditional Jazz/ 1897-1985: Origins/ New Orleans/ Dixieland/ Chicago Styles; Swing/ 1920-1985: Swing/ Dance Bands and Combos; The Vocalists 1917-1986: Singers and Crooners; Modern Jazz: Bebop/ Hard Bop - West Coast; Modern Jazz: Modern Big Band; and Progressive Jazz: Free - Third Stream - Fusion. All of the above are available at the Institute.
- Jazz records, 1942-80 : a discography byCall Number: ML156.4.J3R9 1980z v. 5Publication Date: [198-]-This revision of Jepsen's Jazz Records began in 1972. It was discontinued after eight volumes: seven in print and one on CD-ROM.
- Jazz Records, 1942-69: A Discography byCall Number: ML156.4.J3J47 1963Publication Date: 1963-1970Four volumes of this pioneering discography are available at the Institute.
Jazz records, 1897-1942 by Call Number: ML156.4.J3R9 1982Publication Date: 1982This discography's fifth edition was published in 1983. Still valuable for its track-title index, it does not list reissues. In 2002, a revised edition was released as Jazz and Ragtime Records, 1897-1942.- V-Discs byCall Number: ML156.4.W65S43 1980ISBN: 031322207XPublication Date: 1980-12-23The go-to source for information about V-Discs-- records produced by the U.S. Army and Navy during the period, 1943-1949, for use by military personnel overseas. V-Discs figure prominently in recorded jazz because of the American Federation of Musicians' recording bans of 1942-1944 and 1947-1948, which did not limit V-disc production. Sears' book and its First Supplement [1986] are available at the Institute.
Discographies for Specific Performers
The Studies in Jazz series, edited by the Institute and published by Scarecrow Press, includes several discographical works:
Artie Shaw by Call Number: ML156.7.S47S56 2000ISBN: 0810833972Publication Date: 2000-01-19Artie Shaw, the world famous clarinet-playing bandleader who became popular during the Swing Era, was immersed in the music business as a performer for 30 years, from the summer of 1924, when he began to study saxophone, until the summer of 1954, when he stopped performing. This period of activity is the focus of this musical biography and discography, a detailed account of Shaw's musical career and recorded output. The book begins with a summary of Shaw's career in the contexts of jazz history and social setting, then moves into more detail. The chronologically arranged sections, mirroring each phase of his career, incorporate contemporary reviews and interview quotes to create an insightful narrative. The discography lists all known recordings and is separate from the text to facilitate easy reference. Includes appendixes and index.
Art Tatum by Call Number: ML156.7.T37L4 1982ISBN: 0810815826Publication Date: 1988-03-01Art Tatum is generally acknowledged to be the greatest jazz pianist of all time. Both a catalog and a source book to his recorded music.
Ellingtonia by Call Number: ML156.7.E45T56 1996ISBN: 0810831422Publication Date: 1996-06-18Compiles the recorded music of Ellington and his sidemen, including studio recordings, soundtracks, concerts, radio broadcasts, and private recordings as well as those made with other bands.
Fats Waller on the Air by Call Number: ML156.7.W25T39 2006ISBN: 0810856565Publication Date: 2006-03-20Radio and television broadcasts are an essential component in the career of jazz musician Thomas "Fats" Waller. This book documents Waller's on-air appearances: from his first known broadcast in 1923 at age 19 to the final airing before his premature death in 1943. The broadcasts, including tributes to Waller after his death, are covered in detail, featuring dates, times, songs played, and other artists who appeared on the program. Through descriptions from contemporary newspapers and magazines, accounts from individuals who were in attendance, and remarks by radio announcers from original transcripts, the book provides historical perspective and a sense of the character and feel of the broadcasts. The book also offers a timechart of early sound recording and radio transcriptions, allowing easy comparison of Waller's presence in the field.
Jimmy Dorsey by Call Number: ML156.7.D66S76 1999ISBN: 0810835363Publication Date: 1998-12-23Jimmy Dorsey: A Study in Contrasts is a bio-discographical text that spans Jimmy Dorsey's career as a musician, orchestra leader, and composer.
Other performer discographies at the Institute:
Hendersonia: The Music of Fletcher Henderson and His Musicians by Call Number: ML156.7.H45A4 1973ISBN: B000X724RMPublication Date: 1973
Moonlight Serenade: : a bio-discography of the Glenn Miller civilian band by Call Number: ML156.7.M5F6 1972ISBN: 0870001612Publication Date: 1972-01-01
