Jazz and its colourful, expansive history resonate in this unique collection of sixty essays specially-commissioned from today's top jazz performers, writers, and scholars. Both a reference book and an engaging read, the Companion surveys the evolution of jazz from its roots in Africa and Europe until the present. 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. In addition, this book looks at the impact of jazz on American culture-in literature, film, television, and dance.
The Oxford Companion to Jazz will provide a quick reference source as well as a dynamic and broad overview for all lovers of jazz, from novices to aficionados.