Whitehead, Kevin - Why Jazz?

Why Jazz? is a Q&A handbook for novice listeners, a concise history of jazz's major figures and trends, and a plain-English guide to many musical techniques. As in his jazz reviews for NPR's Fresh Air, Whitehead packs a lot of information into compact, accessible prose.

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CONTENTS

Introduction
1. The Basics
2. Jazz from its origins to 1940: roots, early jazz, the swing era
3. Jazz 1940-1960: bebop, cool, hard bop
4. Jazz 1960-1980: the avant-garde and its aftermath
5. Jazz after 1980: the postmodern period
Endnotes
Glossary
Suggestions for Further Reading
Discographical Notes