Histories
In addition to being available at the Institute, many of these books may be checked out from other Rutgers University Libraries. To see if a circulating copy is available, click on the title and search for other copies in the Library catalog.
The History of Jazz by Call Number: ML3506.G54 2011ISBN: 9780195399707Publication Date: 2011-05-09Ted Gioia's History of Jazz has been hailed as a classic - acclaimed by jazz critics and fans around the world. In the new edition, Gioia brings his work up-to-date, drawing on new research and revisiting many aspects of the music. Gioia provides the reader with lively portraits of many well-known jazz musicians, intertwined with commentary on their music. He also evokes the many worlds of jazz, taking the reader to the Mississippi Delta, New Orleans, Harlem, Chicago, Kansas City, and the many other locales where jazz history was made.
A New History of Jazz by Call Number: ML3506.S47 2007ISBN: 9780826417893Publication Date: 2007-02-15Alyn Shipton provides a comprehensive and entertaining account of jazz history, while challenging many of the assumptions and mythologies that have surrounded jazz since its birth.
The Story of Jazz by Call Number: ML3561.J3S8 1970ISBN: 0195012690Publication Date: 1970-09-15The first and most renowned history of the evolution of the unique American musical phenomenon called jazz, The Story of Jazz follows the course of jazz from the union of the black African musical heritage with European forms and its birth in New Orleans, through the era of swing and bop, to the beginnings of rock in the '50s.
The Birth of Bebop by Call Number: ML3506.D48 1997ISBN: 0520205790Publication Date: 1997-12-02Scott DeVeaux takes a central chapter in the history of jazz--the birth of bebop--and argues that contemporary ideas of this uniquely American art form flow from that pivotal moment. Throughout, DeVeaux places musicians within the context of their professional world and the United States of the time, paying close attention to the challenges of making a living as well as of making good music. He shows that bebop was simultaneously an artistic movement, an ideological statement, and a commercial phenomenon. While The Birth of Bebop is a study in American cultural history and a critical musical inquiry, it is also a fitting homage to bebop and to those who made it possible.
The Jazz Tradition by Call Number: ML3506.W545 1992 DOUGLASSISBN: 0195078160Publication Date: 1993-01-14The new edition of The Jazz Tradition offers readers a unique history of jazz, as seen through its greatest practitioners. An original blend of history and criticism, this book explores the work of nearly two dozen leading musicians and ensembles that have shaped the course of jazz, from King Oliver's Creole Jazz band through the 1990s. The Institute owns the first edition, while the newer revision is available through Douglass Library.
The Swing Era by Call Number: ML3506.S36 1968 DANAISBN: 019504312XPublication Date: 1989-03-02This is the second volume of Gunther Schuller's The History of Jazz. When the first volume, Early Jazz, appeared two decades ago, it was quickly considered to be among the seminal works on American music. It has been universally recognized as the basic musical analysis of jazz from its beginnings until 1933. The Swing Era focuses on the period in American musical history from 1933 to 1945, when jazz was synonymous with America's popular music, its social dances and musical entertainment. The book's thorough scholarship, critical perceptions, and great love and respect for jazz puts this well-remembered era of American music into new and revealing perspective.
The Big Bands by Call Number: ML3518.S55 1981ISBN: 0028724208Publication Date: 1981-11-01Much-admired history of the Swing era written by Metronome journalist who witnessed and wrote about the music at the time.
Jazz: A History of the New York Scene by Call Number: ML3561.J3C428ISBN: 030676055XPublication Date: 1981-10-01Detailed review, especially useful for jazz in the 1920s.
Jazz: its evolution and essence by Call Number: ML3561.J3H6383ISBN: 0394175255Publication Date: 1980-03-01Classic history written by musician and longtime editor of the Paris magazine Jazz Hot expanded the range of music criticism and history with its serious considerations of jazz and its relationship to Western music theory.
Recorded Jazz by Call Number: ML156.4.J3B66 1995ISBN: 0631195521Publication Date: 1996-01-17The first edition of the Guide was widely praised for identifying 150 key recordings that should form the basis of any jazz collection, supported by a series of detailed critical commentaries. This new edition broadens the scope of the Guide, looking at recent developments and styles and suggesting almost 250 discs as the core collection. The focus of the book remains the music itself, however the authors chart the issues of the sessions discussed and introduce recordings for further listening.
The Penguin Jazz Guide by Call Number: ML156.4.J3M67 2010 DANAISBN: 9780141048314Publication Date: 2010-12-28Richard Cook and Brian Morton's Penguin Jazz Guide provides information about recordings of interest to jazz aficionados and newcomers alike. In this book, Brian Morton has selected 1001 recordings from the guide, adding new information, revising and reassessing each entry, and showing how these key pieces tell the history of the music - and with it the history of the twentieth century. Full of updated biographical information, new quotes and interviews and critical reviews.
The Real Jazz by Call Number: ML3561.J3P354 1960ISBN: 116280386XPublication Date: 2010-09-01Not afraid to express pointed and sometimes misguided opinions, Panassié nonetheless was one of Jazz music's earliest historians, having also written Hot Jazz: The Guide to Swing Music. Also of note is Aux Frontières du Jazz, by Robert Goffin, another early French critic; unfortunately, it has never been translated to English.
Jazz by Call Number: ML156.4.J3M87 1998ISBN: 1578590310Publication Date: 1998-08-01Focusing on the genre of jazz, this text examines the genre and recommends best recording buys for 12,000 artists and groups. Coverage includes Dixieland and big band, bebop, fusion, jazzy pop and other related areas and over 20,000 albums are reviewed.
Biography Reference Books
The Institute holds over 1,000 biographies of performers and other important figures in jazz history. The best starting point for finding specific biographies is to search the library catalog using a name and the word "biography" as your search terms. Below are some additional reference sources at the Institute that contain biographical information.
Jazz lives : till we shall meet and never part by Call Number: ML3508.J39 2008Publication Date: 2008Images of musicians and their grave sites, accompanied by concise profiles by Yanow.
Visions of Jazz by Call Number: ML385.G53 1998ISBN: 0195076753Publication Date: 1998-10-22Collection of over 70 profiles of jazz performers by Gary Giddins, longtime writer for the Village Voice.
Jazz Performers by Call Number: ML128.B3C37 1990ISBN: 0313262500Publication Date: 1990-07-18Gary Carner lists books, dissertations, and scholarly journal articles (but not articles in the popular jazz press). Each entry is annotated and presents basic data on the source's content, such as the inclusion of a discography, bibliography, music examples and transcriptions, footnotes, indexes, illustrations, filmographies, and glossaries.
Who's Who of Jazz by Call Number: ML106.U3C5 1985ISBN: 0306762714Publication Date: 1985-03-01Who's Who of Jazz contains biographical entries for American musicians born before 1920, including many figures not found in other sources.
The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz by Call Number: ML102.J3F39 2007 DANAISBN: 9780195320008Publication Date: 2007-04-01An update to the Encyclopedia of Jazz series. More than 3,000 figures from jazz history are featured.
Encyclopedia of Jazz by Call Number: ML105.F34ISBN: 0517014211Publication Date: 1988-12-12Besides nearly 400 pages of biographies, this version features an historical survey of "sixty years of Jazz" (with chronology), two shorter essays on the "Anatomy of Jazz" and "Jazz in American Society," a brief review of Jazz compilations, an overview of "Jazz Overseas," a list of musicians' birthplaces and birthdays, a list of record labels, organizations, schools, and booking agencies, an essay on "Jazz and Classical Music" by Gunther Schuller, and appreciations by Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, and John Hammond. The three volumes of this series are not cumulative; the reader must consult each of them for complete biographical accounts of certain artists. Each of the volumes features a bibliography and excerpts from Feather's famous "Blindfold Test" columns in Down Beat magazine, while the Sixties and Seventies volumes include critics' and readers' polls results and recommended recordings of the years covered. This series followed a nascent version of the Encyclopedia of Jazz published in 1955 and its two updates (The Encyclopedia Yearbook of Jazz [1956] and The New Yearbook of Jazz [1958]).
Encyclopedia of Jazz in the Sixties by Call Number: ML102.J3F43 1966ISBN: 0818012056Publication Date: 1967-01-01In addition to nearly 250 pages of biographies, this volume features a foreword by John Lewis, an introductory essay by the author, a list of record labels, and a short essay on the "Blues and Folk Scene" by Pete Welding.
The Encyclopedia of Jazz in the Seventies by Call Number: ML102.J3F43 1976ISBN: 0818012153Publication Date: 1976-11-01In addition to more than 300 pages of biographies, this version features an introduction by Quincy Jones, "A Guide to Jazz Films" by Leonard Maltin, and an essay on "Jazz Education" by Charles Suber.
Oral Histories and Autobiographies
The Institute's collections feature many oral history resources ranging from the Jazz Oral History Project interviews, to books featuring edited transcripts of oral histories, to a large number of audio recordings from various collections of interviews that are still being inventoried and digitized.
The Jazz Oral History Project is the among the Institute's flagship collections and includes 120 interviews, most with printed transcripts. These interviews have been digitized, and a new website is under development to provide access to a selection of interviews and transcripts from the collection. All of the interviews and transcripts are available for use on site the Institute.
The following is a list of books at the Institute with additional jazz oral history transcripts and similar interview-based research.
Central Avenue Sounds by Call Number: ML3508.8.L7C46 1998ISBN: 0520211898Publication Date: 1998-03-15Also available as an e-book for users with a Rutgers NetID or in a public computer lab on campus. Featuring oral histories from 19 musicians, this book was initiated by the University of California, Los Angeles Oral History Program and put together by the Central Avenue Sounds Editorial Committee: Clora Bryant, Buddy Collette, William Green, Steven Isoardi, Jack Kelson, Horace Tapscott, Gerald Wilson, and Marl Young.
Downbeat by Call Number: ML3506.D69 2009ISBN: 9781423463849Publication Date: 2009-11-01Interviews and interview-based articles from W.C. Handy to the present, all from the pages of the seminal magazine.
Thinking in Jazz by Call Number: ML3506.B475 1994ISBN: 0226043819Publication Date: 1994-10-17Interviews specifically focusing on improvisation from the artist's vantage point.
The World of Duke Ellington by Call Number: ML410.E44D3ISBN: 0306810158Publication Date: 2000-12-28Interview-based profiles of Ellington and 29 other musicians.
The World of Earl Hines by Call Number: ML417.H5D4ISBN: 0684150301Publication Date: 1977-01-01Oral histories from Hines and 20 other musicians, copious photographs, an excellent chronology, and more.
World of Count Basie by Call Number: ML417.B2D3ISBN: 0684166046Publication Date: 1980-09-01Oral histories from Basie and 33 other musicians.
Miles by Call Number: ML419.D39A3 1989ISBN: 0671635042Publication Date: 1989-09-01Lively and controversial memoir; also available online via the Black Thought and Culture database (Rutgers-restricted access).
Music Is My Mistress by Call Number: ML410.E44A3ISBN: 0385022352Publication Date: 1973-11-01Classic autobiography; also available online via the Black Thought and Culture database for Rutgers users with a NetID or in a Rutgers public computer lab.- Swing to Bop byCall Number: ML3508.G57 1985ISBN: 0195036646Publication Date: 1985-11-07Essential history based on interviews with more than 60 musicians.
Chasing the Vibration by Call Number: ML3506.L63 1994ISBN: 1873012810Publication Date: 1994-01-01Interview-based articles originally published in various periodicals.
The Great Jazz Pianists by Call Number: ML397.G68 1983aISBN: 0306803437Publication Date: 1989-03-22Interviews with 27 pianists that originally appeared in various periodicals, plus a brief history.
The Drummer's Time by Call Number: ML394.M277 1998ISBN: 0634001469Publication Date: 1998-11-01Collection of 12 interviews from Modern Drummer magazine.
Goin' to Kansas City by Call Number: ML3508.8.K37P4 1987ISBN: 0252013360Publication Date: 1987-12-01Interviews with more than 40 musicians form the basis of this essential oral history of the Kansas City scene that served as the launching pad for Count Basie, Charlie Parker, and others.
Handful of Keys by Call Number: ML397.S47 2004ISBN: 0415972574Publication Date: 2004-10-25Interview-based articles that originally appeared in various periodicals.
Talking Jazz by Call Number: ML3506.S54 1992ISBN: 1566400740Publication Date: 1992-10-01Interviews with 40 musicians, edited versions of which were originally heard on the NPR program Sidran on Record.
Growing up with Jazz by Call Number: ML394.S85 2005ISBN: 0195159276Publication Date: 2005-03-15Includes interviews with twenty-four musicians.
Living the Jazz Life by Call Number: ML394.S86 2000ISBN: 0195081080Publication Date: 2000-11-30Includes interviews with forty performers.
Notes and Tones by Call Number: ML394.T4 1993ISBN: 030680526XPublication Date: 1993-08-22Originally published in 1982.
Taylor, a drummer, interviews several key musicians.
Jazz Talk by Call Number: ML395.R87 1984ISBN: 0818403578Publication Date: 1984-06-01Extensive interviews with Freddie Hubbard, Paul Quinichette, Milt Jackson, Cecil Taylor, Sun Ra, Milt Hinton, Von Freeman, Billy Harper, Art Blakey, and Bill Dixon.
