The Oxford Companion to Jazz features individual biographies of the most memorable characters of this relatively young art form. Sidney Bechet, King Oliver, Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong, Bix Beiderbecke, Bessie Smith, Duke Ellington, Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus, John Coltrane, and the divas of jazz song - Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughan - come to life in thoughtful considerations of their influences, often turbulent personal lives, and signature styles. In addition, this book looks at the impact of jazz on American culture - literature, film, television, and dance - and explores the essential instruments of jazz and their most memorable players. Looking beyond the United States, the commissioned jazz authorities also consider its profound interaction with the music of Brazil, Latin America, Europe, Japan, Africa, and Canada and Australia.

Authoritative and concise, The Oxford Companion to Jazz provides a quick reference source as well as a dynamic and broad overview for all lovers of jazz, from novices to aficionados.

CONTENTS:
Preface
Introduction
African Roots of Jazz - Samuel A. Floyd Jr.
European Roots of Jazz - William H. Youngren
Ragtime Then and Now - Max Morath
The Early Origins of Jazz - Jeff Taylor
New York Roots: Black Broadway, James Reese Europe, Early Pianists - Thomas L. Riis
The Blues in Jazz - Bob Porter
Bessie Smith - Chris Albertson
King Oliver, Jelly Roll Morton and Sydney Bechet: Menage a Trois, New Orleans Style - Bruce Boyd Raeburn
Louis Armstrong - Dan Morgenstern
Bix Beiderbecke - Digby Fairweather
Duke Ellington - Mark Tucker
Hot Music in the 1920's: The "Jazz Age" Appearances and Realities - Richard M. Sudhalter
Pianists of the 1920's and the 1950's - Henry Martin
Coleman Hawkins - Kenny Berger
Lester Young - Loren Schoenberg
Streamlining Jazz:
Major Soloists from the 1940's and the 1950's - John McDonough
Jazz Singing: Between Blues and Bebop - Joe E. Siegel
Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan and Billie Holiday - Patricia Willard
Jazz and the American Song - Gene Lees
Pre-Swing Era Big Bands and Jazz Composing and Arranging - James T Maher and Jeffrey Sultanof
Swing Era Big Bands and Jazz Composing and Arranging - Max Harrison
The Advent of Bebop - Scott DeVeaux
The New Orleans Revival - Richard Hadlock
Charlie Parker - James Patrick
Cool Jazz and West Coast Jazz - Ted Gioia
Jazz and Classical Music:
To the Third Stream and Beyond - Terry Teachout
Pianists of the 1940's and 1950's - Dick Katz
Hard Bop - Gene Seymour
Miles Davis - Bob Beldon
Big Bands and Jazz Composing and Arranging after World War 2 - Doug Ramsey
Thelonious Monk and Charles Mingus - Brian Priestley
John Coltrane - Lewis Porter
The Avant-Garde, 1949-1967 - Lawrence Kart
Pianists of the 1960's and 1970's - Bob Blumenthal
Jazz Singing Since the 1940's - Will Friedwald
Jazz Since 1968 - Peter Keepnews
Fusion - Bill Milkowski
Jazz Repertory - Jeffrey Sultanof
Latin Jazz - Gene Santoro
Jazz in Europe:
The Real World Music…or a full Circle - Mike Zwerin
Jazz and Brazilian Music - Stephanie L. Stein Crease
Jazz in Africa: The Ins and Outs - Howard Mandel
Jazz in Japan - Kiyoshi Koyama
Jazz in Canada and Australia - Terry Martin
The Clarinet in Jazz - Michael Ullman
The Saxophone in Jazz - Don Heckman
The Trumpet in Jazz - Randy Sandke
The Trombone in Jazz - Gunther Schuller
The Electric Guitar and Vibraphone in Jazz: Batteries not included - Neil Tesser
Miscellaneous Instruments in Jazz - Christopher Washburne
The Bass in Jazz - Bill Crow
Jazz Drumming - Burt Korall
Jazz and Dance - Robert P. Crease
Jazz and Film and Television - Chuck Berg
Jazz Clubs - Vincent Pelote
Jazz and American Literature - Gerald Early
Jazz Criticism - Ron Welburn
Jazz Education - Charles Beale
Recorded Jazz - Dan Morgenstern
Jazz Improvisation and Concepts of Virtuosity - David Hemsey
Selected Bibliography
Indexes

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