There are countless Jazz History courses, tutorials, articles available online, but for some, having a book is still a necessity to learn. This is an up-to-date list of recommended books.
- The History of Jazz (2011)
- DownBeat – The Great Jazz Interviews: A 75th Anniversary Anthology (2009)
- A New History of Jazz: Revised and Updated Edition (2008)
- Jazz: A History of America’s Music (2002)
- Jazz (Second Edition) (2015)
- Keeping Time: Readings in Jazz History (2014)
- Jazz Styles (11th Edition) (2011)
- How to Listen to Jazz (2017)
- Introduction to Jazz History (6th Edition) (2003)
- Jazz Dance: A History of the Roots and Branches (2015)
- Essential Jazz: The First 100 Years (2008)
- St. Louis Jazz: A History (2019)
- A History of US: War, Peace, and All That Jazz: 1918-1945 A History of US Book Nine (2007)
- The History of Jazz (1998)
- Jazz: An American Journey (2004)
The History of Jazz (2011)
Ted Gioia’s History of Jazz has been universally hailed as a classic–acclaimed by jazz critics and fans around the world. Now Gioia brings his magnificent work completely up-to-date, drawing on the latest research and revisiting virtually every aspect of the music, past and present. Gioia tells the story of jazz as it had never been told before, in a book that brilliantly portrays the legendary jazz players, the breakthrough styles, and the world in which it evolved.
DownBeat – The Great Jazz Interviews: A 75th Anniversary Anthology (2009)
(Book). Culled from the DownBeat archives includes in-depth interviews with literally every great jazz artist and personality that ever lived! Features classic photos and magazine covers from DownBeat ‘s vast archives. In honor of its 75th anniversary, DownBeat ‘s editors have brought together in this one volume the best interviews, insights, and photographs from the illustrious history of the world’s top jazz magazine, DownBeat .
A New History of Jazz: Revised and Updated Edition (2008)
Alyn Shipton is on the editorial board of the new Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz, to be released in late 2006, and this new edition of “A New History of Jazz” will be referenced throughout to tracks in this new multi-CD collection of essential jazz recordings.
Jazz: A History of America’s Music (2002)
The companion volume to the ten-part PBS TV series by the team responsible forThe Civil War and Baseball.Continuing in the tradition of their critically acclaimed works, Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns vividly bring to life the story of the quintessential American music—jazz.
Jazz (Second Edition) (2015)
All That Jazz―Total Access to the music and the players. This streamlined second edition exposes students to the expressive power of jazz and brings its greatest players to life. With an emphasis on engagement with the music, this new text gives students all the guidance and inspiration they need to fully understand jazz.
Keeping Time: Readings in Jazz History (2014)
Featuring more than seventy thought-provoking selections drawn from contemporary journalism, reviews, program notes, memoirs, interviews, and other sources, Keeping Time: Readings in Jazz History, Second Edition, brings to life the controversies and critical issues that have accompanied more than 100 years of jazz history.
Jazz Styles (11th Edition) (2011)
For undergraduate courses in Jazz History, Jazz Survey, Evolution of Jazz, Introduction to Jazz, and Jazz Appreciation. America's most widely used introduction to jazz text captures the minds of students by teaching the history of the style and how to actively listen to jazz.
How to Listen to Jazz (2017)
In How to Listen to Jazz, award-winning music scholar Ted Gioia presents a lively introduction to one of America’s premier art forms. He tells us what to listen for in a performance and includes a guide to today’s leading jazz musicians. From Louis Armstrong’s innovative sounds to the jazz-rock fusion of Miles Davis, Gioia covers the music’s history and reveals the building blocks of improvisation.
Introduction to Jazz History (6th Edition) (2003)
This classic chronological survey of jazz history brings the various historical styles to life by exploring them through the lives of the musicians and a study of their recordings. An eight-part organization covers THE BLUES;PIANO STYLES—1890-1940; NEW ORLEANS JAZZ AND DIXIELAND—1910-1940; SWING—1934-1945; BEBOP—1943-1960; THIRD STREAM, COOL, AND BEYOND—1949- ; FREE JAZZ—1960- ; and JAZZ/ROCK FUSION—1968- . For jazz lovers.
Jazz Dance: A History of the Roots and Branches (2015)
“A must-read for all dancers as the invaluable historical references and in-depth coverage of the different jazz forms cannot be found in such detail in any other book on the market today.”—Debra McWaters, author of Musical Theatre Training “Artfully weaves history and professional perspectives to reveal the bou…
Essential Jazz: The First 100 Years (2008)
A complete jazz chronology, ESSENTIAL JAZZ: THE FIRST 100 YEARS, 2e, delivers a thorough and engaging introduction to jazz and American culture. Designed for nonmajors, this brief text explores the development of jazz from its nineteenth-century roots in ragtime and blues through swing and bebop to fusion and contemporary jazz styles. Unique in its up-to-date coverage, one-third of ESSENTIAL JAZZ is devoted to performers of the 1960s through present-day performers.
St. Louis Jazz: A History (2019)
In the early twentieth century, St. Louis was a hotbed for ragtime and blues, both roots of jazz music. In 1914, Jelly Roll Morton brought his music to the area. In 1919, Louis Armstrong came to town to play on the “floating conservatories” that plied the Mississippi. Miles Davis, the most famous of the city’s jazz natives, changed the course of the genre four different times throughout a world-renowned career.
A History of US: War, Peace, and All That Jazz: 1918-1945 A History of US Book Nine (2007)
Recommended by the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy as an exemplary informational text.From woman’s suffrage to Babe Ruth’s home runs, from Louis Armstrong’s jazz to Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s four presidential terms, from the finale of one world war to the dramatic close of the second, War, Peace, and All That Jazz presents the story of some of the most exciting years in U.S. history.
The History of Jazz (1998)
Jazz is the most colorful and varied art form in the world and it was born in one of the most colorful and varied cities, New Orleans.
Jazz: An American Journey (2004)
0131679643 / 9780131679641 Jazz: An American Journey with CD & 2 CD Set Package Package consists of: 013098261X / 9780130982612 Jazz: An American Journey 0131831240 / 9780131831247 3 Compact Disc Set
Best Jazz History Books You Must Read
We highly recommend you to buy all paper or e-books in a legal way, for example, on Amazon. But sometimes it might be a need to dig deeper beyond the shiny book cover. Before making a purchase, you can visit resources like Library Genesis and download some jazz history books mentioned below at your own risk. Once again, we do not host any illegal or copyrighted files, but simply give our visitors a choice and hope they will make a wise decision.
The Jazz Age President: Defending Warren G. Harding
Author(s): Ryan S. Walters
ID: 3389598, Publisher: Regnery History, Year: 2022, Size: 3 Mb, Format: epub
The History of Jazz
Author(s): Ted Gioia
ID: 2935788, Publisher: Oxford University Press, Year: 2021, Size: 9 Mb, Format: epub
The history of jazz
Author(s): Ted Gioia
ID: 2952064, Publisher: , Year: 2021, Size: 44 Mb, Format: pdf
Please note that this booklist is not definite. Some books are really record-breakers according to Los Angeles Times, others are drafted by unknown writers. On top of that, you can always find additional tutorials and courses on Coursera, Udemy or edX, for example. Are there any other relevant books you could recommend? Leave a comment if you have any feedback on the list.