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bryannoise's review
4.0
I'm a rock fan who's never really developed a big appreciation for jazz, not for lack of trying. My dad is a huge jazz fan so a bit of knowledge and familiarity has worn off on me, but I've tried for years to 'dig in' and only a few artists and records have really stuck. I've tried to read a few broad histories of jazz and most are either too centered around the personalities and lifestyles of the musicians (though i did recently read, and really like, "Jazz Anecdotes,") or too self-absorbed, assuming the reader is already deeply familiar with the genre (and often, music theory.)
I got this book as a gift and had low hopes, but it turns out it was just what I needed… It's a history of jazz from a sociological perspective, looking at how jazz developed along with changes in society, recording and broadcast technology, the music industry, and politics. It's chronological and probably oversimplifies the subgenres of jazz to fit into neat compartments, but it's a very good way to approach the huge variety of jazz from the outside, and make sense of how and why it developed the way it did.
I now feel better equipped to look at jazz albums that appeal to me and understand where they fit into the greater history of jazz, and look for threads to other artists and subgenres i'll enjoy.
I got this book as a gift and had low hopes, but it turns out it was just what I needed… It's a history of jazz from a sociological perspective, looking at how jazz developed along with changes in society, recording and broadcast technology, the music industry, and politics. It's chronological and probably oversimplifies the subgenres of jazz to fit into neat compartments, but it's a very good way to approach the huge variety of jazz from the outside, and make sense of how and why it developed the way it did.
I now feel better equipped to look at jazz albums that appeal to me and understand where they fit into the greater history of jazz, and look for threads to other artists and subgenres i'll enjoy.
cisko's review
4.0
Very interesting as a capsule history of jazz and an investigation of the impact of several external factors on its development. Myers tracks the changes in jazz from around 1940 through 1970, and draws connections between specific events and specific jazz movements. This is a little bit too just-so; it would be arbitrary and a bit too reductive to expect that the events he discusses were directly tied to specific stylistic movements in jazz. But the connections are interesting, and the book also serves as a good short history of jazz, tying it to larger developments in American society. The style is accessible and enjoyable, and the book does a good job of being entertaining and scholarly at the same time. A good read for anyone who’s interested in the history of jazz.
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