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How to Listen to Jazz

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How to Listen to Jazz

By: Ted Gioia
Narrated by: Peter Ganim
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About this listen

 A "radiantly accomplished" (Wall Street Journal) music scholar presents an accessible introduction to the art of listening to jazz

In How to Listen to Jazz, award-winning music scholar Ted Gioia presents a lively introduction to one of America's premier art forms. He tells us what to listen for in a performance and includes a guide to today's leading jazz musicians. From Louis Armstrong's innovative sounds to the jazz-rock fusion of Miles Davis, Gioia covers the music's history and reveals the building blocks of improvisation. A true love letter to jazz by a foremost expert, How to Listen to Jazz is a must-read for anyone who's ever wanted to understand and better appreciate America's greatest contribution to music. Americas Instruction & Technique Music United States Celebrity

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Critic reviews

"How to Listen to Jazz is an effort to teach casual listeners how 'careful listening can demystify virtually all of the intricacies and marvels of jazz.'"—New York Times
"How to Listen to Jazz fills an important and obvious gap by offering a sensible and jargon-free introduction to what Gioia calls 'the most joyous sound invented during the entire course of twentieth-century music.' The book deserves a place alongside such classic works of jazz criticism as Martin Williams's The Jazz Tradition, Will Friedwald's Jazz Singing, the books of Gary Giddins and Gioia's own The History of Jazz."—Washington Post
"[How to Listen to Jazz is a] satisfying new book.... One of the best features of the book is a set of 'music maps,' as Mr. Gioia calls them, that serve as a guide to individual recordings."—Wall Street Journal
“Mr. Gioia could not have done a better job. Through him, jazz might even find new devotees.”
—Economist
"How to Listen to Jazz is a packed and useful introduction to the medium with suggestions and aids for the listener who wants to gain entrance to a rich and complicated body of work."—Weekly Standard
“Amid the cacophony of the past year, one paean to improvised order emerged from the pen of music critic Ted Gioia. That book, How to Listen to Jazz, deserves your undivided engagement.”
—Brock Dahl, Washington Free Beacon
"How to Listen to Jazz is a thorough, impassioned guide to a sound that tends either to inspire deep, almost religious devotion or cause eyes to go crossed...[Gioia] elucidates the music in a way that increases the listener's sense of awe and wonder, rather than supplants it."—Columbia Daily Tribune
"Gioia's engaging yet authoritative style makes How to Listen to Jazz not just a valuable primer but a delight to read."—City Journal
A perfect way...to begin an understanding of a music that is, in truth, very, very easy to love."—Buffalo News
“[Gioia] walks fans through a crash course in jazz appreciation that’s suitable for newcomers and intermediate listeners alike…His prose is…inviting and often playful… Most valuable is the extensive catalogue of recommendations, not just of the genre’s top performers but of 150 contemporary jazz musicians—a list that new fans can use to kickstart their journey, and experienced ones can reference to keep up with the form’s continuing evolution.”—Publishers Weekly
"How to Listen to Jazz is a fresh, clearly written and infinitely usable book that should put the jazz novice on track."—Library Journal
"A pretense-free primer on learning to appreciate jazz.... Curious neophytes can start here."—Mojo
All stars
Most relevant
I came to this book with a small amount of Jazz knowledge, but I wanted to expand my understanding of the styles and find a way in to pieces that I found difficult to appreciate.

This book does just that. It gives you and good oversight of all the main sub-genres, players and the history of the music. But most importantly for this sort of book, it gave me the enthusiasm to seek out the suggestions and go deeper than I had before. I would recommend this to anyone that is on the begining of their Jazz journey.

The narrator has a smooth but slow delivery, and I was quite happy to turn him up to 1.5x speed.

Ps. He still hasn't sold me on Ornette Coleman!

Did exactly what I wanted it to do

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Covering the history of the musc and milestone recordings of jazz. A virtual directory of the best available examples around today.

Must read for jazz lovers.

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A brilliant introduction to Jazz. A mysterious type of music, brilliantly explained. From its genesis to its structure to the great heros and recommendations as to the best music to begin educating oneself, this audio book is riveting listen. The narrator manages to convey the passion of the author and ends the book with the upbeat prediction that whatever the future holds for this constantly evolving music you wont be bored. I wasn't bored by this audiobook!

Fantastic introduction

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I am definitely a jazz fan but I also am very aware of my limited knowledge of repertoire and jazz music. I, therefore, chose this audio book to broaden my musical horizons, and to learn of different artists and recordings in the jazz genre that I hadn't experienced previously. I also hoped the book might give my "music theory trained" brain a different approach to experiencing jazz music. Mr Gioia's book was a success on both accounts. Although at times I felt his defence of jazz a little demeaning to other genres, overall the book has a balanced approach and is very clear that these recommendations are Mr Gioia's own, and may not reflect everyone's preferences.

I cannot recommend this book enough to anyone who is beginning their journey in listening to jazz, or to anyone with a limited knowledge of the music and legends of jazz.

Highly recommended

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A great introduction to the world of Jazz, this audiobook covers all of the main players and history. I would've liked some music excerpts but understand that licensing issues would've made the cost prohibitive.

There is a list of performances provided at the end of each chapter and/or musician that you can then look up on your streaming provider of choice.

The only negative I have is that the delivery was a little slow for my liking and for the first time ever I felt the need to adjust the speed to x1.25 which sorted out the issue.

I would recommend for anyone who wishes to learn about, and enjoy, the world of Jazz music.

Essential listening

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