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"Shipton's is a no-nonsense account that picks apart the co-existing, intermingling strands of perhaps the most complex genre of all." --Record Collector, 01/09/07"
"The most outstanding single-volume history of jazz around." Don Rose, Jazz Institute of Chicago "Shipton's done his homework, and he knows how to tell a story." --Blender
"The most outstanding single-volume history of jazz around." Don Rose, Jazz Institute of Chicago "Shipton's done his homework, and he knows how to tell a story." --Blender
Product Description
In this major update of the acclaimed and award-winning jazz history, Alyn Shipton challenges many of the assumptions that surround the birth and growth of jazz music. How was it that it took off all over the United States early in the 20th century, despite the accepted wisdom that everything began in New Orleans? Shipton also re-evaluates the transition from swing to be-bop, asking just how political this supposed modern jazz revolution actually was. He makes the case for jazz as a truly international music from its earliest days, charting significant developments outside the USA from the 1920s onwards.All the great names in jazz history are here, from Louis Armstrong to Miles Davis and from Sidney Bechet to Charlie Parker and John Coltrane. But unlike those historians who call a halt with the death of Coltrane in 1967, Shipton continues the story with the major trends in jazz over the last 40 years: free jazz, jazz rock, world music influences, and the re-emergence of the popular jazz singer. This new edition brings the book completely up-to-date, including such names as John Medeski, Diana Krall, Django Bates, and Matthias Ruegg. There are also important new sections on Latin Jazz, and the repertory movement.
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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22 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Alyn Shipton, the British jazz writer and presenter, has written a 'New History of Jazz' aimed at, it would seem, the American market. His use of such US terms as 'measure' for the British 'bar', or 'check' for 'cheque' hints clearly at the target market. No problem there, you would think, as long as the book is informative, readable, and representative of jazz's international spread, as many claims for this particular history have made. With some important exceptions his book does most of this.
Curiously though, there is more on recent jazz in India than in post-war Britain. A chapter entitled 'Jazz in Britain' would, on the surface, seem to remedy this, but on closer inspection 'Jazz in Britain' means mainly US jazz musicians who played in Britain before WW2. This chapter tells us much about pre-war British tours made by the likes of Sidney Bechet, Coleman Hawkins, Benny Carter, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington or Cab Calloway, but little of home-grown British jazz musicians, and anyway, the chapter stops at 1939!! What - was there no 'Jazz in Britain' after this date?
Stan Tracey and Tubby Hayes are just two British jazz musicians who can stand alongside the best the US has produced, but look in vain for their names in the index - they're not there - so Shipton clearly doesn't think they're good enough to deserve even a one-sentence mention. (Four pages on the decidedly minor figure of Mugsy Spanier, compared to less than two pages on the profoundly influential - and great - Bill Evans is just another of many anomalies).
West Indian-born Joe Harriott, who played his jazz in Britain, appears twice - once under the section for India, because of his collaborations with Indian-born John Mayer in their Indo Jazz Fusions group, and again briefly in a discussion of the US 'Free Jazz' movement; but only a minute number of British jazz musicians get any mention at all, usually so brief as to have little or no meaning.
Of course, no-one would claim that British Jazz deserves a great amount of space devoted to it - Jazz was, is, and presumably always will be, an American-dominated music - but to exclude musicians as outstanding as Tubby Hayes and Stan Tracey is perverse in the extreme, and while Shipton was away workin' for the Yankee dollar, he seems to have forgotten his own country.
Turn to this book to find out what's been happening recently in India, Latin America, France, South Africa, Russia, Germany or Scandinavia, but you'll have to look elsewhere to know what's been going on in your own - and Shipton's - country.
Curiously though, there is more on recent jazz in India than in post-war Britain. A chapter entitled 'Jazz in Britain' would, on the surface, seem to remedy this, but on closer inspection 'Jazz in Britain' means mainly US jazz musicians who played in Britain before WW2. This chapter tells us much about pre-war British tours made by the likes of Sidney Bechet, Coleman Hawkins, Benny Carter, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington or Cab Calloway, but little of home-grown British jazz musicians, and anyway, the chapter stops at 1939!! What - was there no 'Jazz in Britain' after this date?
Stan Tracey and Tubby Hayes are just two British jazz musicians who can stand alongside the best the US has produced, but look in vain for their names in the index - they're not there - so Shipton clearly doesn't think they're good enough to deserve even a one-sentence mention. (Four pages on the decidedly minor figure of Mugsy Spanier, compared to less than two pages on the profoundly influential - and great - Bill Evans is just another of many anomalies).
West Indian-born Joe Harriott, who played his jazz in Britain, appears twice - once under the section for India, because of his collaborations with Indian-born John Mayer in their Indo Jazz Fusions group, and again briefly in a discussion of the US 'Free Jazz' movement; but only a minute number of British jazz musicians get any mention at all, usually so brief as to have little or no meaning.
Of course, no-one would claim that British Jazz deserves a great amount of space devoted to it - Jazz was, is, and presumably always will be, an American-dominated music - but to exclude musicians as outstanding as Tubby Hayes and Stan Tracey is perverse in the extreme, and while Shipton was away workin' for the Yankee dollar, he seems to have forgotten his own country.
Turn to this book to find out what's been happening recently in India, Latin America, France, South Africa, Russia, Germany or Scandinavia, but you'll have to look elsewhere to know what's been going on in your own - and Shipton's - country.
21 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This superb book warrants more the the maximum five stars possible. No other history of jazz matches this tome, even Gunther Schuller's two weighty offerings.
The section on early jazz if the most interesting and Shipton has carried out extensive research to dismiss some of the old cliches about the birth of the music in New Orleans. This is historical research at it's best. The section on the origins of piano Jazz is fascinating and the writer has surely managed to demonstrate how these musicians created their styles independent of the horn players. As piano player myself, I was pleased to see how Shipton stressed the importance of this genre. The piano-players are the neglected heros of Jazz. THe chapter on Los Angeles central Avenue scene adds further new material to the previous accepted histories.
This books covers the whole history of jazz, from the origins to the masters of today. Not only does Shipton know his music and has interviewed many (if not all !!) of the great musicians, but he demonstrates his skill also as a historian.
Although this book is over 900 pages long, I read it really quickly and finished it wanted more.A book that will appeal to traditionalists and modernists alike, this is one of the best books on any subject that I have read. It must be considered essential to all Jazz fans.
To summarise, this is the written equivalent of an imaginary Duke Ellington band with Louis, Hawk,Pres, Dizzy,Bird, Miles,'Trane,Clifford,Herbie,
The section on early jazz if the most interesting and Shipton has carried out extensive research to dismiss some of the old cliches about the birth of the music in New Orleans. This is historical research at it's best. The section on the origins of piano Jazz is fascinating and the writer has surely managed to demonstrate how these musicians created their styles independent of the horn players. As piano player myself, I was pleased to see how Shipton stressed the importance of this genre. The piano-players are the neglected heros of Jazz. THe chapter on Los Angeles central Avenue scene adds further new material to the previous accepted histories.
This books covers the whole history of jazz, from the origins to the masters of today. Not only does Shipton know his music and has interviewed many (if not all !!) of the great musicians, but he demonstrates his skill also as a historian.
Although this book is over 900 pages long, I read it really quickly and finished it wanted more.A book that will appeal to traditionalists and modernists alike, this is one of the best books on any subject that I have read. It must be considered essential to all Jazz fans.
To summarise, this is the written equivalent of an imaginary Duke Ellington band with Louis, Hawk,Pres, Dizzy,Bird, Miles,'Trane,Clifford,Herbie,
Wayne,etc as soloists !!!!
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Alyn Shipton's book is sold as a "New" history of jazz, but it's really only as far as the origins of jazz go that he has anything new to argue. This part is interesting, but the rest (let's say 80% of the book) is a retread of material easily found in other books such as Ted Gioia's History of Jazz and Gary Giddens's Visions of Jazz. I'd go for Giddens before Shipton.
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