Visions of Jazz: The First Century

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Part One: Precursors 1: Bert Williams/Al Jolson (Native Wits) 2: Hank Jones/Charlie Haden (Come Sunday) 3: Louis Armstrong/Mills Brothers (Signifying) 4: W.C. Handy (Birth of the Blues) 5: Irving Berlin (Ragging the Alley) 6: Spencer Williams (The Bard of
Part 1 : The Poker Game) 13: Coleman Hawkins (Patriarch) 14: Pee Wee Russell (Seer) 15: Chick Webb (King of the Savoy) 16: Fats Waller (Comedy Tonight) Part Three: A Popular Music 17: Benny Goodman (The Mirror of Swing) 18: Jimmie Lunceford (For Listeners
Part 2 : The Enlightenment) 28: Billy Strayhorn (Passion FLower) 29: Spike Jones (Chasin' the Birdaphone) 30: Charlie Parker (Flying Home) 31: Dizzy Gillespie (The Coup and After) 32: Sarah Vaughan (Divine) 33: Thelonious Monk (Rhythm-a-ning) 34: Bud Powe
Part 3 : At then Pulpit) 54: Muhal Richard Abrams (Meet This Composer) 55: Roscoe Mitchell/Marty Ehrlich (The Audience) 56: Henry Threadgill (The Big Top) 57: Charles Gayle/David S. Ware/Matthew Shipp (Sweet Agony) Part Seven:A Struggling Music 58: Hannib
Acknowledgments
Index of Names
Index of Songs and Selected Albums

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Poised to become a jazz classic, Gary Giddins' Visions of Jazz: The First Century contains no fewer than 78 chapters illuminating the lives of virtually all major figures in jazz history. From Louis Armstrong's renegade style trumpet playing to Frank Sinatra's intimate crooning, jazz critic Gary Giddins continually astonishes us with his unparalleled insight. In just a few lines, he captures the essence of Louis Armstrong, "He could telegraph with a growl or a rolling of his eyes his independence, confidence, and security. As the embodiment of jazz, he made jazz the embodiment of the individual." Giddins maintains, contrary to the opinion of most jazz enthusiasts, that Armstrongs voice was as much an integral part of creating jazz singing as his trumpet was to creating jazz. Perhaps the most remarkable chapters in the book are those that do pay tribute to the great jazz singers. Billie Holiday profoundly impacted music history, and Giddins eloquently honors her "gutted voice, drawled phrasing, and wayworn features." Many artists, such as Irving Berlin and Rosemary Clooney, have been traditionally dismissed by fans and critics as merely popular derivatives of true jazz. Giddins finally opens the doors of jazz to include these musicians. In addition to this, he devotes an entire quarter of this volume to young, active jazz artists. No other book has so boldly expanded the horizon of jazz and its influences. Visions of Jazz is an evocative journey through the first one hundred years of jazz that will captivate--and challenge--musicians, music critics, and music lovers.

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This gigantic book of 79 essays amounts ... to a grand, brilliant history of the most American of arts

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