Early Jazz: Its Roots and Musical Development (The History of Jazz)
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.90 (935 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0195000978 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 416 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2014-03-15 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Gunther Schuller is a musician, composer, conductor, educator, and the first composer to be awarded the Elise L. Stoeger Composer's Chair of the Chamber Society of Lincoln Center.
An American Heritage. Peter Stöve, arranger, conductor of "the Beau Hunks" orchestra (check our CD's at amazon.com) and the Dutch production of 'Annie". I can't believe that no-one has reviewed this wonderful book until now. It is one of the cornerstones of jazz criticism, and the first one not written by one of these annoying pipe-smoking, foot-tapping listeners you always notice sitting at tables beside the bandstand at jazzclubs, but by a very fine musician who has actually been 'one of the cats'. O.K., he is a French horn-player, but jazz buffs who are 'in the know' with the work of Julius Watkins and John Graas won't mind. But seriously:. The best musical examination of 20s jazz Robert James Jazz criticism tends to run in two groups: one, the biographical/anecdotal (often marvelous to read), and two, word pictures of how the music made the writer feel (often awful to read). Gunther Schuller's "Early Jazz" does what any undergraduate musicology major would do: examine the music note by note, and explain what's going on. While this is not an easy book to read for people like me who have no musical training (or talent, for that matter), it is an absolutely essential book nonetheless. Priscilla Stilwell said Fabulous in-depth look at Jazz' early development. Hardly a stone is left unturned in this look into the early development of jazz. It provides a thorough introduction to a wide range of subjects and artists, carefully reviewing each of numerous recordings.This is not a biographical account of the lives of the early jazz artists, but is an analysis of the styles and development. From the deep south and the roots of the music, into the Midwest and Southwestern styles, the author is thorough and careful in his look.Much more than an introductio
All future commentary on jazz--indeed on American music--should be indebted to Schuller's work."--Martin Williams"The best informed and most thorough work of jazz criticism thus farIt is just what we who began to love jazz thirty-five years ago wanted but could never find." --Hudson Review"Jazzhas inspired an enormous literature. "Here, at last, is the definitive workwritten in the best intellectual tradition. The writer always mentioned first among buffs and scholars in Gunther Schuller; his Early Jazzis a basic book." --Wilson Quarterly. It is clear, thorough, objective, sophisticated and original. I emphasize musical because that's the element of jazz least often written about with this degree of skill and clarity."--Nat Hentoff"A superb job, in its thorough scholarship, its critical perception, and its love and respect for its subject. A remarkable book by any standard, it is unparalleled in the literature of jazz."--Frank Conroy, The New York
Early Jazz is one of the seminal books on American jazz, ranging from the beginnings of jazz as a distinct musical style at the turn of the century to its first great flowering in the 1930s. A classic study, it is both a splendid introduction for students and an insightful guide for scholars, musicians, and jazz aficionados.. Schuller explores the music of the great jazz soloists of the twenties--Jelly Roll Morton, Bix Beiderbecke, Bessie Smith, Louis Armstrong, and others--and the big bands and arrangers--Fletcher Henderson, Bennie Moten, and especially Duke Ellington--placing their music in the context of the other musical cultures of the twentieth century and offering analyses of many great jazz recordings.Early Jazz provides a musical tour of the early American jazz world