Product Description

Every jazz lover’s got his or her favorites. For some, it’s John Coltrane’s breathy, bitter-sweat ballad, “Naima.” For others, it’s Duke Ellington’s hard-jiving swing opus “Take the A Train.” Then there’s Miles Davis’s epic-making Kind of Blue, the improv tour de force in which Miles, Trane, and Cannonball trade solos and achieve sheer melodic transcendence. Whether you like it hip or mellow, hot or cool, Dixieland or avant garde, jazz is a vast and many-faceted sound space (and soul space) that you could spend a lifetime exploring. And it couldn’t hurt to have a savvy guide like former Los Angeles Times jazz critic and author Dirk Sutro to help you navigate its many depths and riches.

In Jazz For Dummies, Sutro takes you deep into the history and soulful sounds of jazz. From Sachmo to Bird, Mingus to Weather Report, you get a rare behind-the-scenes look at the masters and their music, and you:

• Get the lowdown on jazz, firsthand, from today’s greats
• Get inside the different types of jazz—from big band to bee-bop to funk
• Get a handle on the concepts, terms, and conventions that distinguish jazz from other forms of music
• Get a perspective on the history of jazz
• Put together a fine jazz collection of your own
• Recognize the key characteristics of particular players’ sounds

Whether you’re getting into jazz for the first time or you’re been in the scene for years, Jazz For Dummies is a treasure trove of facts, insights, and guidance on:

• One hundred years of jazz—from Dixieland to fusion and beyond
• Great front men and women, on sax, trumpet vocals
• Keyboard geniuses of jazz from ragtime to the present
• Percussionists, bassists, and guitarists of note
• Shopping for jazz recordings and finding live jazz in your area

The bonus CD features a sampling of vintage recordings, including cuts by Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Art Tatum, and others.

Your swingin’ guide to the world of jazz, Jazz For Dummies lets you tune into the different jazz styles and help you become a more savvy listener.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #354731 in Books
• Published on: 1998-09-16
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Review
"Dirk Sutro, obviously, is madly in love with jazz and its foremost players. It is also more than obvious that he knows what he's talking about." —"Chubby" Jackson, jazz bassist

"When asked, "What is Jazz?" the great Louis Armstrong replied, 'If you have to ask, you'll never know.' With Jazz For Dummies, now you can know one of...America's greatest contributions to world culture." —Jon Faddis, jazz trumpeter

"Dirk Sutro has done an excellent job of conveying to the layman the intricacies and subtle nuances involved in the playing of jazz music. Well done!" —Charles McPherson, jazz saxophonist and composer

"Not only is Jazz For Dummies educational, it's fun to read. This book provides an important stepping stone to understanding this complex, profound music. After all, Jazz is America's only true art form. It's about time someone did Jazz For Dummies. Thanks to Dirk Sutro...It's here! —James Moody, jazz saxophonist

Jazz For Dummies is clear, concise, and a accurate look at the jazz scene, a major step in demystifying the music and making it more accessible. Long overdue, if you could have just one book about jazz, this should be the one." —Bobby Matos, Latin jazz recording artist, percussionist, leader of Bobby Matos & the Afro Cuban Jazz Ensamble

From the Back Cover
"Now you can finally know about one of...America's greatest contributions to world culture." —Jon Faddis, Jazz Trumpeter

• Your Swingin' Guide to the World of Jazz — from New Orleans to Bebop to Fusion to Acis Jazz
• Hear the Lowdown on the Jazz Scene Through Interviews with the Masters
• Expert Recommendations for Building Your Own Cool Collection

"Not only is Jazz For Dummies educational, it's fun to read. This book provides an important stepping stone to understanding this complex and profound music." —James Moody, Jazz Saxophonist

Dirk Sutro is madly in love with Jazz and...he knows what he's talking about." —"Chubby" Jackson, Jazz Bassist

Get into the Swing of Jazz...
Written in style that's as hip as the music itself, this ever-so-copacetic guide lays down the rich history and soulful sounds of jazz. Take a behind-the-scene look at the masters and their music — from Duke Ellington to Charlie Parker to Wynton Marsalis. Tune into the different jazz styles and become a more savvy listener. Whether you're getting into the rhythm for the first time or a hep cat solid in the scene, Jazz For Dummies will keep you bopping!

Stay in the Groove

• Get the lowdown firsthand from today's freats
• Appreciate the different types of jazz — from the big bands to funk jazz
• Assemble your own library of great jazz music
• Keep those fingers snappin' — recommended online and newsstand jazz resources
• Treat your ears to some of the hottest jazz on CD

Exclusive CD Feature Many of the Coolest Jazz Tunes Ever Recorded!

About the Author
Dirk Sutro, former jazz writer for the Los Angeles Times, was baptized into live jazz at San Francisco's legendary Keystone Korner. He has written about jazz for more than 15 years and has profiled or reviewed major players ranging from Branford Marsalis, Sonny Rollins, and Pat Metheny to Mose Allison, Milt Hinton, and Chick Corea. Sutro also interviews jazz musicians as regular guest host of the "These Days" on public radio.

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Customer Reviews

A great place to start!
Jazz is a huge subject and this book doesn't pretend to be anything other than what it is: an introduction to the players and the music
Good humored enough to avoid ever becoming "dry and boring" and the author clearly loves his subject
I'd give this 5 Stars if there was an extra couple of chapters on history or music theory.
As it is, solid value for money and a good read

GW

Title very misleading
I bought this jazz book thinking that the dummy publishers were actually at last dealing with the theory of jazz and how jazz chords work. It was nothing what I was expecting. It is merely looking into jazz history showing pictures of all the jazz greats and all this information you can find on google or yahoo anyway.

If you looking for jazz theory then this book will not be for you. If you're looking for jazz history then you will love it The title is misleading and I wonder how many people have bout this bok expecting to read up on jazz theory but instead faced having a history lesson?

A Good Place to Start
Both the accolades and criticisms of the reviews above are accurate. As someone new to jazz, I wanted to hear some examples of what makes jazz unique - such as syncopation, emphasis on chords, and slurred notes. The CD does not deliver this, but neither does any other introduction to jazz that I could find. The closest thing is the PBS web site for Ken Burns' Jazz, which has a virtual piano that morphs "Mary Had a Little Lamb" from the nursery rhyme tune into a jazz version, step by step.

The author's emphasis on performers and "names" is true, but all music is developed by people. Jazz (more so than other music types) has evolved from the performers and their personalities. The different eras of jazz seem to be best explained by the creative changes of people playing it. Jazz as a whole today seems to be strongly influenced by the major figures of the past, such as John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, and Thelonius Monk. Understanding these types of figures, and the others who have been influenced by them, explains a lot about the development of jazz. There are some omissions in the book that seem to be common from the jazz "elite", for example Glenn Miller. While maybe not the best performer of big band swing jazz, he certainly was one of the most popular.

If you are interested in jazz, want to know more about it and the people who made it what it is, this book is a good place to start. After that, let your own taste be your guide as to where you go next.