Visions of Jazz: The First Century

By Gary Giddins

Book Overview

Already a jazz classic, Gary Giddins' Visions of Jazz: The First Century contains no less 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.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195076753
• ISBN13: 9780195076752
• Release Date: September 1998
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 704 Pages
• Weight: 2.56 lbs.
• Dimensions: 2.1" x 6.5" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Hard to find a better book on jazz !

Veteran jazz critic Gary Giddins is immensely articulate and intelligent, and yet so readable and user-friendly. As erudite as he is, he never pontificates, or "talks down" to the reader, as many jazz writers often do. Few writers can "hear" the music as well as he does -- and he somehow transmits this to the reader. Not content to be merely an historian, Giddins can also analyze a Charlie Parker solo with the best of them (as he does here), and his musical knowledge is formadible. He provides telling accounts and anecdotal information of the great jazz players and singers with great authority, a strong command of the language and an intrinsic love for this music. Of the dozens of books on jazz I have read, this is still my favorite. Each refreshing chapter stands on its own, and as a jazz player and teacher, I simply can't recommend a better book than "Visions of Jazz".

The new standard jazz history

Gary Giddins has performed a remarkable feat. He has covered one hundred years of jazz history in one volume. At 700 pages it is big for sure but it is well researched and very readable. At first glance it appears that Giddins has structured and organized the book in the worst possible way by having one chapter on each of the seminal figures of jazz history, and in semi chronological order. The pitfall here is that it lends itself to a book that looks like lots of note cards strung together. This structure can also obscure the larger picture; jazz is not just the history of a bunch of individuals. Giddins very skillfully avoids both of these traps. Each chapter is well researched, filled with anecdotes about the musician or group, and through the chapters flows the larger background of the historic movements and issues in the development of jazz. Giddins also approaches jazz with a refreshing "inclusiveness" and wastes precious little energy in defining what jazz is or in dismissing various movements as "unpure" or other such nonsense. In fact he makes the point right up front that jazz owes as much to popular music for its genesis as it does to spirituals or black folk music. In the chapter on Irving Berlin he points out that Tin Pan Alley was a mixture of black, Jewish and other ethnic blends of music, and in fact, Berlin was even accused of having an underground railroad of black song writers in his back room that he was ghosting for. And this, at the time, was not meant as a compliment..Of course, jazz cannot be discussed in a vacuum and race plays an important part in its history. Giddins adds two bits of trivia, which I find speak volumes in themselves about where we are and where we have come from. One was that Al Jolson lobbied Gershwin for the part of Porgy. He, thankfully, did not get it. Second was that Ellington's all black orchestra played in an Amos and Andy movie in the 30's and the producer had the lighter skinned members of the orchestra blacked up with makeup for the scenes. I suppose this was to dispel any idea in the minds of the movie audience that the band might be integrated.The book lacks a recommended discography, which would have been valuable. Giddins does comment on the recordings of his subjects in their respective chapters so that is a big help. There is a 2 CD companion set with the same title which is a nice-to-have but it is largely an afterthought and the only connecting material is the 4 inch square flimsy comment sheets that come with the CD which does not really relate back to the book itself. This is a essential book for any jazz lovers library.

This is a wonderful book !.`

I am 57 years old, a white, suburban male, with almost no experience in jazz. I know what I like, but I don't know why, and although I enjoy older generations of singers and songs, many of the people in this book are unfamiliar beyond their names. That is the triumph of this book. It is so well written, so beautiful and rapsodic,so educational and entertaining, I want to learn more, hear more, and find the connections. The only thing I wish were included were photographs and a 10 cd set to hear the music the author refers to. Now, I have to get a saxophone or trumpet !

Outstanding

The research and time but into this indepth overview of the first century of jazz is absolutely remarkable. Discussing the most influential and popular jazz artists of the century, this book gives insight into the artists and their music as well. Absolutely outstanding!

Remarkable Study

This is an outstanding, invaluable guide to jazz. I recommend it fully, with just one caveat -- not enough coverage of the incredible influence of Brazilian music (percussion, bossa nova, rhythms, MPB composers) on jazz. For that reason, one should also consult "The Brazilian Sound" (Temple University Press) as a supplement to this work.