 Jazz
Greats (20Th-Century Composers) by David Perry
Do "jazz
greats" belong with the likes of Bartók and Puccini? The
editors of Phaidon's 20th-Century Composers series think so. This
readable volume surveys the careers of a dozen influential figures
in the development of jazz, from Buddy Bolden and Sidney Bechet
to Wynton Marsalis and Keith Jarrett. Author David Perry avoids
an overly analytical approach to a largely improvisational art,
while still marking the ebb and flow of jazz style over the decades.
When it comes to the lives of his "greats," he is steadfastly
honest in recounting their failings (personal and musical) without
judgment. The only quibble one might have with Perry's approach
to his subject is that he seems to have discounted the undisputed
importance of a number of non-black contributors to the growth
and development of this music.
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