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Jazz For Dummies, 2nd Edition | 
 enlarge | Author: Dirk Sutro
Publisher: For Dummies
Category: Book
List Price: $19.99
Buy New: $5.73
You Save: $14.26 (71%)
New (35) Used (14) Collectible (1) from $4.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  2 reviews
Sales Rank: 355912
Media: Paperback
Edition: 2
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 384
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 7.3 x 0.9
ISBN: 0471768448
Dewey Decimal Number: 781.65
EAN: 9780471768449
ASIN: 0471768448
Publication Date: July 5, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: This BOOK IS IN GOOD CONDITION. It is available in stock for immediate dispatch. Although book is new and unused, it may have been subject to some slight shelf wear and (or) a sticker from the publisher on the reverse of the book. Our Customer service is excellent and rest assured we will have a smooth transaction. If you have any Questions or queries please do not hesitate to get in touch with us and we will be pleased to assist you .
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Product Description
Includes a list of more than 100 recordings for your jazz collection
The fun and easy way to explore the world of jazz
Jazz is America's greatest music, but with over a century's worth of styles and artists, where do you begin? Relax! This hep cat's guide delivers the scoop on the masters and their music -- from Duke Ellington to Charlie Parker to Wynton Marsalis. It's just what you need to tune in to the history and musical structure of jazz and become a more savvy listener.
Discover how to
* Understand the traits and roots of jazz
* Tune in to jazz styles, from big band to bebop
* Listen to great jazz artists
* Catch a live jazz performance
* Succeed in a jazz ensemble
Praise for Jazz For Dummies
"Now you can finally know about one of . . . America's greatest contributions to world culture."
--Jon Faddis, jazz trumpeter
"Fun to read. . . . An important stepping stone to understanding this complex and profound music."
--James Moody, jazz saxophonist
"Dirk Sutro is madly in love with jazz and . . . he knows what he's talking about."
--"Chubby" Jackson, jazz bassist
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| Customer Reviews:
 Extremely uneven and often frustrating April 17, 2008
Dirk Sutro's JAZZ FOR DUMMIES aims to introduce the genre to neophytes. It unfortunately suffers from the flaws of both a kitchen-sink approach, padding the book with irrelevant material, and some major oversights. Note that with the second edition the book no longer comes with a CD.
Sutro covers the major jazz figures from the hazy beginnings in New Orleans up to Miles Davis' proteges. I was aghast, however, to see Sutro completely overlook the ECM scene. How can you write a general introduction to jazz without mentioning Keith Jarrett or Jan Garbarek, two of the best-selling jazz artists from the 1970s on? He mentions Wynton Marsalis, but none of the controversy over his strict definition of jazz and exclusion of non-African-Americans from the canon. There are also some factual errors here, as when he claims that Schoenberg, Webern and Berg pioneered microtonal writing, setting the way for a strain of jazz, when in fact the innovation of the Second Viennese School was using 12-tone rows with only semitone steps.
The section on building up a jazz collection is better, with a list of recommended recordings and some pointers to audio equipment. However, some of its advice is lame. In talking about buying headphones, for instance, Sutro says "Ask the salesperson at the local audio store which headphones are best for your needs," when the salesperson is probably just going to recommend whatever gets him the most commission.
While most people buying JAZZ FOR DUMMIES will undoubtedly be music listeners who want to find inroads to this important but sometimes difficult genre, too much of the book is dedicated to jazz performance and recording and sales techniques. In a difficult market for record sells, would anyone be willing to take the advice of a book like this and an author with no experience in the field for how to market his music? Finally, an entire chapter is dedicated to how to play jazz to impress your friends at parties, and I hate to see this great music used for such snobbish reasons when it is so fascinating for its musical value.
 Great for neophytes! April 9, 2008
I don't intend to become a jazz player, but I am curious about the underlying layers of this fascinating style of music. This book has not only driven me to a deeper understanding of the origins and of technical aspects of the jazz, but has indeed provided me with a better appreciation of it.
After reading this book I just want more jazz!
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