For both newcomers just beginning their jazz library and veterans looking to deepen their understanding, Ben Ratliff's THE NEW YORK TIMES ESSENTIAL LIBRARY: JAZZ A Critic's Guide to the 100 Most Important Recordings (Times Books/An imprint of Henry Holt and Company, November 6, 2002; $16.00) offers a compact yet wide-ranging collector's guide that no fundamental or diverse library should be without. Ratliff draws on his expertise as a jazz and pop critic at The New York Times to fill this invaluable handbook with opinions, insights, and tips on the top one hundred most important jazz recordings. Ratliff thoroughly dissects and analyzes each individual recording through short, original essays explaining historical context, influence, and overall contribution to the history of jazz. Delving into the development of jazz music, these original essays highlight milestone events, legendary players, critical trends, and artistic breakthroughs. Remarkably authoritative, THE NEW YORK TIMES ESSENTIAL LIBRARY: JAZZ explores such renowned musicians as Billie Holiday and John Coltrane without neglecting such lesser-known but equally influential performers as Chano Pozo, Jimmy Giuffre, and Greg Osby, and covers everything from the rare early recordings of Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Benny Goodman's seminal Carnegie Hall concert to the lions of the bebop era and the transformative Miles Davis.
An assertive and deeply knowledgeable guide, THE NEW YORK TIMES ESSENTIAL LIBRARY: JAZZ is a connoisseur's tour through the great American art for serious and amateur jazz devotees alike.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
BEN RATLIFF has been a jazz and pop critic at The New York Times since 1996. His expertise and passion for this “art music" both educate and engage the reader. Sharp and edgy, his essential guidebook is a must-read for jazz enthusiasts and aficionados and imperative for anyone building their own jazz library.
THE NEW YORK TIMES ESSENTIAL LIBRARY: JAZZ A Critic's Guide to the 100 Most Important Recordings
By Ben Ratliff
Times Books /Henry Holt and Company
November 6, 2002
0-8050-7068-0 * 250pp * $16.00
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