This title is a mine of information and a source of insightful often wittily trenchant criticism of jazz music. Brian Morton has picked out the 1000 best recordings that all jazz fans should have and shows how they tell the history of the music and with it the history of the 20th century.
Brian Morton is a freelance writer and longtime broadcaster for BBC Radio. Richard Cook is the former editor of the Wire and is currently the editor of the leading UK jazz magazine, Jazz Review. He is the coauthor of The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings.
Offers a chronologically arranged survey of jazz recordings, including biographical details and lineups.
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings is firmly established as the worlds leading guide to recorded jazz, a mine of fascinating information and a source of insightful ?often wittily trenchant ?criticism. This is something rather different: Brian Morton (who taught American history at UEA) has picked out the 1000 best recordings that all jazz fans should have and shows how they tell the history of the music and with it the history of the twentieth century. He has completely revised his and Richard Cooks entries and reassessed each artists entry for this book. The result is an endlessly browsable companion that will prove required reading for aficionados and jazz novices alike.Its the kind of book that youll yank off the shelf to look up a quick fact and still be reading two hours later FortunePart jazz history, part jazz Karma Sutra with Cook and Morton as the knowledgeable, urbane, wise and witty guides ... This is one of the great books of recorded jazz; the other guides dont come close Irish Times