A review by davygibbs
Playing Changes: Jazz for the New Century by Nate Chinen

5.0

This book does for contemporary jazz what David Azerrad's This Band Could Be Your Life did for the alternative 80s underground. In prose that is brisk, lucid, and contagious in its enthusiasm, Chinen walks the reader through the various nooks & crannies of the current jazz scene (visiting stages both big and small) and makes a compelling case for the genre's continued vitality. If you're a music fan curious about the state of jazz today, I can think of no better place to start your journey. Playing Changes is essential for the listening suggestions alone. You won't make it to the end without finding plenty to love.