Description: 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. It covers all major historical periods and features 70 unique Listening Guides to specific performances, drawn from the readily available Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz (SCCJ) and from the recordings that accompany the text on two CDs/cassettes. (Using the CDPro plug-in readers can access the Listening Guides for an interactive experience.) Biographical sketches for recent and historical musicians define the cultural elements that surround the musicians and the music. Covers country and city Blues (1900-); piano styles (1890-1940; Ragtime, Stride, Boogie-Woogie); New Orleans jazz and Dixieland (1910-1940); Swing (1934-1945); Bebop (1943-1960); Third Stream and Cool (1949-); free jazz (1960-); and the jazz/rock fusion (1968-). Highlights several of the ongoing stylistic trends in jazz today; and covers the new hybrids of American music. Features a provocative essay on Jazz and the Creative Spirit; and supplemental appendixes on The Elements of Music for the Nonmusician, The Elements of Jazz, and Rock to Fusion.

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