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Product Description
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings is firmly established as the world's leading guide to recorded jazz, a mine of fascinating information and a source of insightful - often wittily trenchant - criticism. This is something rather different: Brian Morton (who taught American history at UEA) has picked out the 1000 best recordings that all jazz fans should have and shows how they tell the history of the music and with it the history of the twentieth century. He has completely revised his and Richard Cook's entries and reassessed each artist's entry for this book. The result is an endlessly browsable companion that will prove required reading for aficionados and jazz novices alike.
'It's the kind of book that you'll yank off the shelf to look up a quick fact and still be reading two hours later' Fortune
'Part jazz history, part jazz Karma Sutra with Cook and Morton as the knowledgeable, urbane, wise and witty guides ... This is one of the great books of recorded jazz; the other guides don't come close' Irish Times
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
While I agree the comprehensive CD review book was getting too cumbersome(getting on for 2000 pages) I feel this effort could have been so much better.
I am not sure categorizing reviews by years really works but the main problem is there is no artist index. So if you are looking for a specific artist you have to plough through all the entries listed by year.
How easy it would have been to also add an artist index!
I am not sure categorizing reviews by years really works but the main problem is there is no artist index. So if you are looking for a specific artist you have to plough through all the entries listed by year.
How easy it would have been to also add an artist index!
33 of 35 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
20 years ago I bought the first Guide by Brian Morton and Richard Cook (and then the next 8 editions at 2 yearly intervals) and refer to them all constantly - an, as yet non-existent, multi volume edition would certainly be my ''Desert Island'' book choice. Although you wouldn't know from the somewhat overblown ''reviews'' printed in the subsequent editions, the first one was not universally applauded - along the lines of, ''who is this aimed at'' etc. Well, history has answered that one, but I would revive that comment for this awful cop-out. Other reviewers have pointed out the many obvious shortcomings and it is quite clear that Morton has completely lost interest in everything except the money involved in this lazy affair.
There is but one CD recorded since the last issue and perhaps 3 or 4 from 2007, the year before the last issue - does Morton really think that represents the ''current scene'' - of course not!!! This is a wilfully perverse selection of the ''best'' 1001 CDs and would perhaps have had more validity as simply ''The history of Jazz in 1001 CDs'' -and even then it would be questionable - is John Coltrane for example really only worth 3 entries when Anthony Braxton and Milt Jackson get 5 each?!? For individual Artists, previous 5*/Crown and ''Core Collection'' CDs are randomly jettisoned and replaced by, often, 3* recordings, with no explanation - do these represent Morton's preferences over Cook's? Who knows, but this book won't tell you!!!
Worse still is the superficial ''review'' of each decade, the rather pretentious practice not including translations of numerous French, Italian and other quotes and virtually no attempt to fit the selected discs into the ''history''. However the really sloppy part is the virtually non-existent editing which is just not good enough - it is bad enough that the vast majority of the text is lifted straight from previous issues but no one appears to have even read them before inclusion -I haven't read every entry yet of course, but just about all the ones I have struggled through include references to: ''the disc below/above'', comments on Albums which are not included or mentioned again, ''the first disc here'' etc etc - all obviously straight from the original text, and only making sense in that context. Even the minimal ''new'' text is littered with such inconsistencies and in a couple of instances, even of the few I have read, clearly refer to a different CD from the one mentioned.
The lack of an Index, again, is just astonishing in any book, but particularly given the outcry last time one was omited. At least previously it was for reasons of size, and explained - this book is half the size of most editions, and no explanation whatsoever is given
Penguin/Morton seem determined to prolong this successful series (Cook did not contribute any new stuff to the 9th edition either) but this is damaging the well earned reputation of all concerned - buy the 9th edition, in fact, any edition rather than this very poor effort.
Very, very poor and very, very Sad !!!!
There is but one CD recorded since the last issue and perhaps 3 or 4 from 2007, the year before the last issue - does Morton really think that represents the ''current scene'' - of course not!!! This is a wilfully perverse selection of the ''best'' 1001 CDs and would perhaps have had more validity as simply ''The history of Jazz in 1001 CDs'' -and even then it would be questionable - is John Coltrane for example really only worth 3 entries when Anthony Braxton and Milt Jackson get 5 each?!? For individual Artists, previous 5*/Crown and ''Core Collection'' CDs are randomly jettisoned and replaced by, often, 3* recordings, with no explanation - do these represent Morton's preferences over Cook's? Who knows, but this book won't tell you!!!
Worse still is the superficial ''review'' of each decade, the rather pretentious practice not including translations of numerous French, Italian and other quotes and virtually no attempt to fit the selected discs into the ''history''. However the really sloppy part is the virtually non-existent editing which is just not good enough - it is bad enough that the vast majority of the text is lifted straight from previous issues but no one appears to have even read them before inclusion -I haven't read every entry yet of course, but just about all the ones I have struggled through include references to: ''the disc below/above'', comments on Albums which are not included or mentioned again, ''the first disc here'' etc etc - all obviously straight from the original text, and only making sense in that context. Even the minimal ''new'' text is littered with such inconsistencies and in a couple of instances, even of the few I have read, clearly refer to a different CD from the one mentioned.
The lack of an Index, again, is just astonishing in any book, but particularly given the outcry last time one was omited. At least previously it was for reasons of size, and explained - this book is half the size of most editions, and no explanation whatsoever is given
Penguin/Morton seem determined to prolong this successful series (Cook did not contribute any new stuff to the 9th edition either) but this is damaging the well earned reputation of all concerned - buy the 9th edition, in fact, any edition rather than this very poor effort.
Very, very poor and very, very Sad !!!!
21 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The low rating is not for the book itself which is not bad, maybe two and a half stars, but for the fact that it replaces the eagerly awaited 10th Edition of The Penguin Guide To Jazz Recordings, by far the best jazz guide out there. I use the 9th Edition continuously - if I hear a track by, say, Simon Nabotov and I want authoritative recommendations as to which of his CDs to buy (and not buy) there's nowhere better. Please Penguin, publish the 10th Edition asap. The book under review falls between two stools - too much obscure music for the neophyte and nowhere near enough detail for the seasoned jazz fan. And as has been said elsewhere, the lack of an index is completely insane. Arghh!
Here's what we need:
Every year or maybe every two years a new edition of the Guide with reviews of what's been issued recently, plus "core collection" reviews, and an online archive with ALL reviews from all editions of the Guide. Access to the online archive would be provided with purchase of the book. Wouldn't that be nice?
Here's what we need:
Every year or maybe every two years a new edition of the Guide with reviews of what's been issued recently, plus "core collection" reviews, and an online archive with ALL reviews from all editions of the Guide. Access to the online archive would be provided with purchase of the book. Wouldn't that be nice?
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
When is a Jazz Guide not a Guide to Jazz?
I've been using Richard Cook and Brian Morton's 'The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD' (seventh edition; 2004) for a number of years. I find it engrossing and indispensable. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Udeen
A wilfully perverse and unhelpful book
Even leaving aside the mathematically pedantic dating system that puts 1970 in the 1960s (but not 1960), this book seems almost wilfully perverse. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Charles
Another Triumph for Morton and Cook!!
This is probably the best book about jazz that has ever been written. Don't be fooled into thinking that it's simply a continuation of its distinguished and massive predecessors. Read more
Published 16 months ago by MR W. LUCKIN
A 'must' for all jazz lovers.
This is a superb listing of jazz recordings/reviews in chronological order. It covers the world but is essentialy US focussed. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Kenneth J. Morris
Penguin strikes a blow for Jazz!
It must be a good fifty years since I bought my last Penguin guide to jazz, "Recorded Jazz: a critical guide" by Rex Harris and Brian Rust from Pelican Books at the princeley price... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Dave D
Ideal
I am very pleased with this book and the lay-out is just what I required. I wanted to see recommended albums chronologically and this is exactly what is delivered here. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Paul Anthony Levy
Dreadful
Oh dear, what happened? I have the previous 9 volumes so there is obviously a fair bit of repetition, but given there are so many new releases and re-issues in the 2 years period... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Coltrane
I loved it!
I loved this book. It's immensely readable, full of quirky quotes from musicians and producers and highly entertaining. Read more
Published 18 months ago by stuart davis
Pointless
As jazz CD sales are declining and some of the most important labels now facing bankruptcy, the Penguin Guide to Jazz, formerly one of the key reference works, is now in similar... Read more
Published 18 months ago by R. Ellenson
Where is the real guide to jazz recordings?
This book is very disappointing. I'm an avid user of the Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings, but this so called 10th edition doesn't add anything useful to the former editions. Read more
Published 18 months ago by D. Jager
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