The Rich History of Jazz Music
Few genres of American music can claim to possess such a complex but free-flowing art as that which Jazz has contributed to the world. Developed in the early 20th Century from African rhythmic roots, Jazz musicians blended together spiritual hymns, work songs, and the blues to create a distinct sound that defined a generation and beyond.
For Jazz Appreciation Month, we encourage you to explore these great titles!
Learn about the Music
Jazz: A History of America’s Music
by Geoffrey C. Ward & Ken Burns
- The Jazz Revolution: Twenties America and the Meaning of Jazz by Kathry J. Ogren
- Swing City: The Newark Nightlight by Barbara J Kukla
- Smoketown: the Untold Story of the Other Great Black Renaissance by Mark Whitaker
- Dangerous rhythms : jazz and the underworld by T. J. English*
- Help! : the Beatles, Duke Ellington, and the magic of collaboration by Thomas David Brothers*
- Jazz modernism : from Ellington and Armstrong to Matisse and Joyce by Alfred Appel*
Meet the Jazz Artists
Queen of Bebop: The Musical Lives of Sarah Vaughan
by Elaine M. Hayes
- The History of Bones : a Memoir by John Lurie.
- The Savoy King: Chick Webb & the Music That Changed America [DVD]
- Satchmo Blows Up the World: Jazz Ambassadors Play the Cold War by Penny M. Von Eschen
- You Can’t Steal a Gift: Dizzy Clark Milt and Nat by Gene Lees
- On jazz : a personal journey by Shipton, Alyn*
- Saxophone Colossus : the life and music of Sonny Rollins by Aidan Levy*
* Item can be requested through the BCCLS system.
