Jazz: From New Orleans to the new generation (Guardian Shorts) [Kindle Edition]

What a find! These Guardian Shorts are real nuggets and this one on jazz writing from the Guardian and Observer is excellent. Selected short articles and reviews from some the best names in jazz writing from across the decades, including: Benny Green, Dave Gelly, John Fordham and Michael Parkinson.

The guide works on several levels: as a reminder of what good music writing can look like, a useful survey of key jazz recordings and concerts from past times, and the social history of the times. The bite-sized nature of the articles makes it an ideal e-book to tip in and out of, and the price for the download is pretty darned reasonable.

Any Kindle owner/jazz fan would be strongly advised to give this one a go. More like this please!

Review update: having now completed reading and re-reading several of these wonderful articles, I can recommend this Guardian Short on Jazz even more. It brings a real a sense of the music to life, along with the reaction of notable critics to new releases and gigs at the time. Amongst the highlights: Benny Green's scathing review of The Modern Jazz Quartet and a more favourable piece on Miles Davis' Kind of Blue; a retrospective on the ECM label; and some revealing early jazz reviews culled from the Guardian and Observer. A veritable time-capsule of writing, and some of the best stuff you'll read on jazz.

Very good articles from the late forties onwards. Benny Green particularly brilliant, someone who is mostly now forgotten about which is a shame

I was expecting to read original reviews with some commentary placing them into context not just the reviews. I thought it was very slight more pamphlet than book.