30-Second Jazz

Dave Gelly, consultant editor, was born at the height of the Swing era. He studied English and Anthropology at Cambridge University, where he played saxophone in the award-winning University band, the line-up for which included Art Themen and Lionel Grigson. From the mid-1960s he co-led his own quartets and quintets with Frank Ricotti, Jeff Scott, and Barbara Thompson. He was also a member of the New Jazz Orchestra, directed by Neil Ardley. He has written extensively on jazz, and has been voted Jazz Writer of the Year. He joined the Observer in 1974 and has written regularly for them ever since.

6 Foreword
8 Introduction

Chapter 1: THE SHAPE OF JAZZ
12 GLOSSARY
14 Bands, big and small
16 How the parts function
18 How do they know what to play?
20 The jazz language and how it’s learned
22 Where jazz was played in the past
24 Where jazz is played now
26 The diversity of styles
28 PROFILE: Duke Ellington

Chapter 2: STYLES OF JAZZ
32 GLOSSARY
34 New Orleans & classic jazz
36 Swing
38 Orchestral jazz
40 Bebop to Hard Bop
42 Bossa Nova to Freedom
44 Jazz Rock and Fusion
46 European Jazz
48 PROFILE: Charlie Parker

Chapter 3: INSTRUMENTS OF JAZZ
52 GLOSSARY
54 Brass: trumpet & trombone
56 Saxophones, clarinet, flute
58 Piano
60 Bass (double bass & bass guitar)
62 Drums & percussion
64 Guitar (acoustic & electric)
66 Jazz specialties: vibraphone, Hammond organ, Fender Rhodes Jelectric piano
68 PROFILE: Louis Armstrong

Chapter 4: VOCAL JAZZ
72 GLOSSARY
74 Divas
76 Great American Songbook: Men
78 Great American Songbook: Women
80 Jazz Entertainers
82 Vocal Groups
84 Scat & Vocalese
86 Contemporaries
88 PROFILE: Ella Fitzgerald

Chapter 5: CLASSIC JAZZ ALBUMS
92 GLOSSARY
94 Louis Armstrong: Satch Plays Fats
96 Benny Goodman: Carnegie Hall Concert
98 Count Basie: The Atomic Basie
100 Miles Davis: Kind of Blue
102 John Coltrane: A Love Supreme
104 Weather Report: Black Market
106 Michael Brecker: Now You See It, Now You Don’t
108 Keith Jarrett: The Köln Concert
110 PROFILE: Miles Davis

Chapter 6: JAZZ & THE BLUES
114 GLOSSARY
116 A Shared History
118 Characteristics: Early Blues
120 Jazz & Blues Meet
122 Blues & Big Bands
124 Boogie Woogie
126 Electric Guitar (BB King, T-Bone Walker)
128 Jazz & Blues-Rock Explosion
130 Profile: PROFILE: BB King

Chapter 7: TODAY IS THE QUESTION
134 GLOSSARY
136 Citizens of the World (Israel, Benin, Cuba etc)
138 Beyond Bop
140 Technophiles
142 Maverick Adventurers
144 Avant Now
148 Second law
150 Third law
152 Profile: James Clerk-Maxwell

154 Notes on Contributors
156 Resources
158 Index
160 Acknowledgements