Synopsis

Alyn Shipton is on the editorial board of the new Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz, to be released in late 2006, and this new edition of "A New History of Jazz" will be referenced throughout to tracks in this new multi-CD collection of essential jazz recordings.

Brand New Edition Featuring Over 20% Entirely New Material

Praise for the first edition of A New History of Jazz:"The most outstanding single-volume history of jazz around."—Don Rose, Jazz Institute of Chicago

"No jazz writer, scholar, teacher, musician, or fan should be without it on his or her desk. Yes, it really is that good."—W. Royal Stokes, Jazz Notes

"Shipton has taken on the big on here and come up trumps...More trustworthy and less sentimental than many similar efforts...it achieves something approaching an essential text." — Mojo

"A marvelously balanced yet passionate history of a protean cultural form. Not only is the book encyclopedic in the breadth of its coverage, but it has a thesis — or, more accurately, a set of interlocking theses — about how the music has developed." — History Today

"Shipton's done his homework, and he knows how to tell a story." — Blender

In this major update of the acclaimed and award-winning jazz history, Alyn Shipton challenges many of the assumptions that surround the birth and growth of jazz music. How was it that it took off all over the United States early in the 20th century, despite the accepted wisdom that everything began in New Orleans? Shipton also re-evaluates the transition from swing to be-bop, asking just how political this supposed modern jazz revolution actually was. He makes the case for jazz as a truly international music from its earliest days, charting significant developments outside the USA from the 1920s onwards.

All the great names in jazz history are here, from Louis Armstrong to Miles Davis and from Sidney Bechet to Charlie Parker and John Coltrane. But unlike those historians who call a halt with the death of Coltrane in 1967, Shipton continues the story with the major trends in jazz over the last 40 years: free jazz, jazz rock, world music influences, and the re-emergence of the popular jazz singer.

This new edition brings the book completely up-to-date, including such names as John Medeski, Diana Krall, Django Bates, and Matthias Ruegg. There are also important new sections on Latin Jazz and the repertory movement.

Publishers Weekly

In this monumental study, Shipton (Groovin' High), who presents jazz programs for the BBC, covers what he believes to be the most significant musical form to emerge during the 20th century. The book delves deeply into all aspects of the music, from boogie-woogie, big bands and bebop to the experiments of the postmodern era. The author's emphasis on jazz as an international phenomenon, even though it originated in the U.S., sets the book apart from other histories, as does his examination of the politicization of this music in the 1960s through organizations such as the Chicago-based Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, the Art Ensemble of Chicago and the Black Artists' Group in St. Louis. Coltrane, Mingus and Ornette Coleman receive special attention, but Shipton doesn't concentrate on superstars, and these are only a few among the multitude of musicians he discusses. His observations on style are succinct and evocative: Ben Webster's saxophone playing has "the slightly sinister feeling that violence might erupt any moment"; the "tremendous press-roll" of Art Blakey's drumming hauls "players from one chorus to the next with unfettered power." Throughout, Shipton stresses the importance of the recording industry, which early on helped spread the form to young musicians beyond the big centers of New Orleans, Chicago and New York, and has facilitated communication between jazz musicians. This comprehensive book, with its wealth of information presented in a nontechnical style accessible to the general reader, is a major contribution to the literature of jazz. 100 b&w photos not seen by PW. (Sept.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Biography

Alyn Shipton presents jazz radio programs for the BBC and is a critic for The Times in London. He is the author of several books on music, as well as a music publisher and editor. He divides his time between Oxford and the French countryside. In 2010, he was voted UK Jazz Broadcaster of the Year.