Music should accompany text

The book is fantastic but it would have been bolstered by having examples of the described music played in the proximity of the comments about the music.

As I am already familiar with the music, the authors descriptions added meaning. If I did not already know the music I don't think that the descriptions would have been meaningful to me.

There was one mispronunciation which was repeated several times.. Camarillo was pronounced Camarillo and not Cama-rio.

25 people found this helpful

Not perfect, but the best available

Not perfect, but the best available on the subject and impressive in its own right. Sometimes repetitive in many ways, but absolutely worth it.

9 people found this helpful

An Exciting Opportunity Missed

This book contained a tremendous amount of information about the jazz genre and its artists. As an Audible Book however, it missed the opportunity to provide audio snippets as the author would mention the impacts of a jazz innovator and mentioned specific recordings where the unique rhythms or innovative dynamics or outstanding technical mastery of an instrument was demonstrated, yet there was no example shared with the listener. This Audiobook failed to meet my expectations as there was not a single example of jazz included. The narrator presented the work in a dry monotone with very little change in delivery or dynamics. Audiobooks offers a special feature to use one's auditory facilities to experience the music as well as text.

43 people found this helpful

Does exactly what it says on the cover.

As a long time student of jazz, I've seen many works attempt to make sense of the long and varied history of the music. This audiobook, which was an impulse purchase, comes about the closest I've experienced to covering everything in one,tidy, work. What really impressed me was that Gioia accomplished this without leaving many, if any, notables out and with as close to a complete absence of personal bias you are likely to find in jazz writing. Even styles on the farthest edge of jazz such as acid jazz and smooth jazz are given respectful consideration, rather than outright dismissal, to say nothing of the serious treatment of fusion and avant garde, both of which are too often ignored or treated with distain bordering on disgust by many of the modern day jazz archivists.

My only complaint is a slight one. I found the language to be a little too flowery at time. Not unbearably so, but there's too much French sprinkled in and it sounds a little pretentious in places. (I think I've heard the word "oeuvre" enough to last a lifetime.) Bob Souer's narration is unobtrusive mostly, which I mean as a good thing, though I question his pronunciation for some of the names, but it could also be I've been doing it wrong all these years.

Regardless if you're a neophyte or long time fan, I think you'd be hard pressed to find a better, more complete, single history of jazz.

6 people found this helpful

Great place to start in exploration of jazz

Great book lots of info and insight into the how and why. The narrator wasn't quite my cup of tea, a little too monotone. If I didn't come in to this book with a great deal of interest it might have turned me off. As I got deeper in it mattered less and less though.

5 people found this helpful

Great book

I really love this. book has a lot of good stores and history of the best music America has developed. There are a few things I didn't like was it was a little difficult to follow would go for. The 60's to the 40's to the 80's then back to the 30 or 40's then to the 50's the dates were all over the place. But other then that a great book. Very well worth reading

2 people found this helpful

A Dense Yet Engaging Experience

"The History of Jazz" is often lauded as an essential primer into the story of jazz, and rightly so. Ted Gioia's 10-chapter book takes a respectable dive into the backgrounds of the various movements of jazz, giving a great introduction to the major players and foundational works of each movement. As an added bonus, the book sprinkles bits of the life stories of some of these major players (I especially enjoyed hearing about Louis Armstrong). The information packed into each chapter can be dense, but the prose and narrative were engaging enough to keep me engaged throughout the book, and there was always enough information to paint a vivid picture of each scene and movement. As a jazz fan and as someone who has taken courses on music theory, I found it easy and engaging to follow along with the many names mentioned in the book and the musical descriptions of the major foundational jazz works. However, those who are unfamiliar with the jazz scene or music theory may be overwhelmed by the musical descriptions.

Ultimately, the vivid pictures of the history of jazz that this book painted deepened my appreciation of jazz and introduced me to many jazz gems that I would have never learned of otherwise. If you have any interest in jazz at all, you owe it to yourself to give this book a shot.

As for the audio performance, I found the audio quality to be perfectly acceptable. The narrator can be a bit monotone, but I felt that he was very articulate and did the job well overall. I do feel that this audio version of the book could be made more accessible by playing samples of the various works covered in the book, but I don't think they would be strictly necessary for enjoying the book.

1 person found this helpful

Excellent

The book is very good but I wish it had musical clips. I suppose the royalty payments make that too expensive.

1 person found this helpful

Just awesome

Would you listen to The History of Jazz, Second Edition again? Why?

Yes excellent reference to have in your Library. I will be buying the hard copy as well.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The History of Jazz, Second Edition?

Louis Armstrong historical impact .

What about Bob Souer’s performance did you like?

just fine , Perfect.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

awestruck with the details of hardships.

Any additional comments?

A great reference for any Jazz enthusiast.

1 person found this helpful

Seminal jazz history work

Excellent survey of jazz history. No wonder why this book has become a standard at university jazz history programs. This edition is updated with many names and trends that make the book much more relevant today. The audible edition is great too. The reader speaks in a very clear way, which is specially important for us non-native English speakers.

1 person found this helpful