Listen to Jazz!
Exploring a Musical Genre
Published on 10. July 2025
Book
Hardback
336 pages
978-1-4408-7551-9 (ISBN)
Description
Listen to Jazz!: Exploring a Musical Genre explores jazz as both an American musical genre and a global creative exchange, with a focus on 50 must-hear musicians, composers, bands, groups, albums, and songs.
Rather than focusing on jazz as a solely American genre with a limited set of established jazz greats, Listen to Jazz! explores the diversity of jazz's sounds, compositions, recordings, and styles. A background chapter concisely surveys the genre's sounds, concepts, performance practices, and interactions with the sound recording industry and technological advances in recording. The A-to-Z Must-Hear Music entries include recent jazz musicians from around the world, jazz musicians and recordings that have been marginalized or overlooked, as well as musicians, songs, and albums that have been recognized already for contributing to the defining aspects of specific jazz styles. Chapters on the impact of jazz on popular culture and its legacy, as well as a bibliography, enhance the historical and analytical content found in many jazz resources.
This book stands out for its inclusive and comparative listening-centered approach, often pairing or grouping musicians and recordings in its entries. Music concepts such as improvisation, syncopation, tone color, musical structure, harmonic and rhythmic patterns, and music production techniques are introduced and explained thoroughly, making the book accessible to high school and undergraduate students without any previous musical background while still being of interest to jazz aficionados and scholars.
Rather than focusing on jazz as a solely American genre with a limited set of established jazz greats, Listen to Jazz! explores the diversity of jazz's sounds, compositions, recordings, and styles. A background chapter concisely surveys the genre's sounds, concepts, performance practices, and interactions with the sound recording industry and technological advances in recording. The A-to-Z Must-Hear Music entries include recent jazz musicians from around the world, jazz musicians and recordings that have been marginalized or overlooked, as well as musicians, songs, and albums that have been recognized already for contributing to the defining aspects of specific jazz styles. Chapters on the impact of jazz on popular culture and its legacy, as well as a bibliography, enhance the historical and analytical content found in many jazz resources.
This book stands out for its inclusive and comparative listening-centered approach, often pairing or grouping musicians and recordings in its entries. Music concepts such as improvisation, syncopation, tone color, musical structure, harmonic and rhythmic patterns, and music production techniques are introduced and explained thoroughly, making the book accessible to high school and undergraduate students without any previous musical background while still being of interest to jazz aficionados and scholars.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
College/higher education
Primary & secondary/elementary & high school
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
With dust jacket
Illustrations
15 bw photos
Dimensions
Height: 239 mm
Width: 162 mm
Thickness: 26 mm
Weight
628 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4408-7551-9 (9781440875519)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
06/2025
1st Edition
Bloomsbury Academic USA
€119.99
Available for download
Person
Melissa Ursula Dawn Goldsmith is a musicologist, an Adjunct Faculty member in the Department of Visual and Performing Arts of Springfield College in Massachusetts, USA, as well as a Visiting Associate Professor/Lecturer in the Music Department and College of Graduate and Continuing Education at Westfield State University, also in Massachusetts, USA. She is the author of Listen to Classic Rock! (Bloomsbury, 2019) and co-author with Anthony J. Fonseca of Listen to Hip Hop! (Bloomsbury, 2021), both in the Exploring Musical Genres series.
Content
Series Forward
Preface
Acknowledgments
1. Background
2. Must-Hear Music
Louis Armstrong
Lil Hardin Armstrong and Valaida Snow
Sidney Bechet
Ben Bernie, Maceo Pinkard, and Kenneth Casey: "Sweet Georgia Brown" and Kurt Weill,
Bertolt Brecht, and Marc Blitzstein: "Mack the Knife"
Elmer Bernstein and Mack David: "Walk on the Wild Side" and Lou Reed: "Walk on the Wild
Side"
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Snarky Puppy, and Nerija
Billie Holiday and Julie London
Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers: Moanin' and Hailu Mergia and the Walias Band: Tche
Belew
Cannonball Adderley: Somethin' Else
Hoagy Carmichael and Mitchell Parish: "Stardust" and Ann Ronell: "Willow Weep for Me"
Terri Lyne Carrington: The Mosaic Project and Esperanza Spalding: Radio Music Society
Benny Carter, Lionel Hampton, and Dorothy Ashby
John Coltrane: "Giant Steps" and Alice Coltrane: "Translinear Light"
John Coltrane: My Favorite Things and Dexter Gordon: Go!
The Dave Brubeck Quartet: Time Out and Quasimode: Oneself Likeness
Miles Davis and Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah
Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker
Eric Dolphy: Out to Lunch! and Andrew Hill: Point of Departure
Duke Ellington
Ella Fitzgerald, Betty Carter, and Astrud Gilberto
Ginger Baker: Why?
Robert Glasper: Black Radio, Black Radio 2, Miles Ahead, and Black Radio III
Stephane Grappelli, Django Reinhardt, and L. Subramaniam
Vince Guaraldi: "Cast Your Fate to the Wind," Ben Tucker and Bob Dorough: "Comin' Home
Baby," and The Pacific Express: "Wind Song"
Earle Hagen and Dick Rogers: "Harlem Nocturne" and Dizzy Gillespie: "A Night in Tunisia"
Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Hiromi Uehara, and Connie Han
Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, and Kamasi Washington
Al Hirt and Kenny Ball
Fred Katz and Chico Hamilton
Stan Kenton, Esquivel, and Tito Puente
King Crimson: "21st Century Schizoid Man," Weather Report: "Unknown Soldier," and
Steely Dan: "Josie"
Fela Kuti
Lambert, Hendricks & Ross and Jack Sheldon
Marian McPartland and George Shearing
Bobby McFerrin, Leon Parker, and Aziza Mustafazadeh
Miles Davis Quintet: Cookin' with the Miles Davis Quintet
Charles Mingus: Mingus Ah Um and Tijuana Moods
Wes Montgomery, George Benson, Emily Remler, and Lionel Loueke
Gerry Mulligan: Night Lights
Newport Jazz Festival and Related Studio Recordings
Ken Nordine, Jayne Cortez, and John Sinclair
Edgar Sampson: "Stompin' at the Savoy" and Louis Prima: "Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing)"
Wayne Shorter: Speak No Evil and Wayne Shorter Quartet: Emanon
Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto: Getz/Gilberto and Charlie Byrd: Brazilian Byrd
Sun Ra and Ornette Coleman
The Swingle Singers, Pizzicato Five, and Take 6
Art Tatum, Mary Lou Williams, Thelonious Monk, and Abdullah Ibrahim
Toshiko Akiyoshi-Lew Tabackin Big Band: Long Yellow Road, and Jon Jang: The Pledge of Black Asian Allegiance
Sarah Vaughan, Nina Simone, and Cecile McLorin Salvant
Tom Waits and Rickie Lee Jones
3. Impact on Popular Culture
4. Legacy
Bibliography
Index
Preface
Acknowledgments
1. Background
2. Must-Hear Music
Louis Armstrong
Lil Hardin Armstrong and Valaida Snow
Sidney Bechet
Ben Bernie, Maceo Pinkard, and Kenneth Casey: "Sweet Georgia Brown" and Kurt Weill,
Bertolt Brecht, and Marc Blitzstein: "Mack the Knife"
Elmer Bernstein and Mack David: "Walk on the Wild Side" and Lou Reed: "Walk on the Wild
Side"
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Snarky Puppy, and Nerija
Billie Holiday and Julie London
Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers: Moanin' and Hailu Mergia and the Walias Band: Tche
Belew
Cannonball Adderley: Somethin' Else
Hoagy Carmichael and Mitchell Parish: "Stardust" and Ann Ronell: "Willow Weep for Me"
Terri Lyne Carrington: The Mosaic Project and Esperanza Spalding: Radio Music Society
Benny Carter, Lionel Hampton, and Dorothy Ashby
John Coltrane: "Giant Steps" and Alice Coltrane: "Translinear Light"
John Coltrane: My Favorite Things and Dexter Gordon: Go!
The Dave Brubeck Quartet: Time Out and Quasimode: Oneself Likeness
Miles Davis and Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah
Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker
Eric Dolphy: Out to Lunch! and Andrew Hill: Point of Departure
Duke Ellington
Ella Fitzgerald, Betty Carter, and Astrud Gilberto
Ginger Baker: Why?
Robert Glasper: Black Radio, Black Radio 2, Miles Ahead, and Black Radio III
Stephane Grappelli, Django Reinhardt, and L. Subramaniam
Vince Guaraldi: "Cast Your Fate to the Wind," Ben Tucker and Bob Dorough: "Comin' Home
Baby," and The Pacific Express: "Wind Song"
Earle Hagen and Dick Rogers: "Harlem Nocturne" and Dizzy Gillespie: "A Night in Tunisia"
Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Hiromi Uehara, and Connie Han
Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, and Kamasi Washington
Al Hirt and Kenny Ball
Fred Katz and Chico Hamilton
Stan Kenton, Esquivel, and Tito Puente
King Crimson: "21st Century Schizoid Man," Weather Report: "Unknown Soldier," and
Steely Dan: "Josie"
Fela Kuti
Lambert, Hendricks & Ross and Jack Sheldon
Marian McPartland and George Shearing
Bobby McFerrin, Leon Parker, and Aziza Mustafazadeh
Miles Davis Quintet: Cookin' with the Miles Davis Quintet
Charles Mingus: Mingus Ah Um and Tijuana Moods
Wes Montgomery, George Benson, Emily Remler, and Lionel Loueke
Gerry Mulligan: Night Lights
Newport Jazz Festival and Related Studio Recordings
Ken Nordine, Jayne Cortez, and John Sinclair
Edgar Sampson: "Stompin' at the Savoy" and Louis Prima: "Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing)"
Wayne Shorter: Speak No Evil and Wayne Shorter Quartet: Emanon
Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto: Getz/Gilberto and Charlie Byrd: Brazilian Byrd
Sun Ra and Ornette Coleman
The Swingle Singers, Pizzicato Five, and Take 6
Art Tatum, Mary Lou Williams, Thelonious Monk, and Abdullah Ibrahim
Toshiko Akiyoshi-Lew Tabackin Big Band: Long Yellow Road, and Jon Jang: The Pledge of Black Asian Allegiance
Sarah Vaughan, Nina Simone, and Cecile McLorin Salvant
Tom Waits and Rickie Lee Jones
3. Impact on Popular Culture
4. Legacy
Bibliography
Index