Dave Hunt’s personal choices of books on jazz
Reference
Leonard G. Feather
Encyclopedia of Jazz. Da Capo, 1984.
Encyclopedia of Jazz in the Sixties. Da Capo, 1986.
Leonard G. Feather and Ira Gitler. Encyclopedia of Jazz in the Seventies. Da Capo, 1987.
John Fordham. Jazz: History, Instruments, Musicians, Recordings. Dorling Kindersley.
Barry Kernfeld, ed. New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, 3 vols. Oxford University Press, USA, 2003.
Improvisation
David N. Baker
Jazz Bass Clef Expressions and Explorations. Jamey Aebersold, 2002.
Jazz Treble Clef Expressions and Explorations. Jamey Aebersold, 2002.
Jazz Improvisation: A Comprehensive Method for All Musicians. Alfred Publishing Co., 1988.
Practicing Jazz: A Creative Approach. Jamey Aebersold, 2004.
Paul F. Berliner. Thinking in Jazz: The Infinite Art of Improvisation. University of Chicago Press, 1994.
Jerry Coker
Elements of the Jazz Language for the Developing Improvisor. Alfred Publishing Co., Pap/Com ed., 1997.
How to Listen to Jazz. Jamey Aebersold, 1990.
How to Practice Jazz, Jamey Aebersold, 1990.
Improvising Jazz, Prentice Hall, 1964.
Jazz Idiom, Prentice Hall, 1976.
Mark C. Gridley. Jazz Styles: History & Analysis. Prentice Hall, 2006 [1997 edition is great, although other 8 editions are also excellent].
Ekkehard Jost. Free Jazz, Da Capo Press, 1994.
Mark Levine
The Jazz Piano Book. Sher Music Company, 2005.
The Jazz Theory Book. Sher Music Company, 1995.
John Mehegan
Jazz Improvisation 1: Tonal and Rhythmic Principles. Amsco Publications, revised edition 1984.
Jazz Improvisation 2: Jazz Rhythm and the Improvised Line. Amsco Publications, 1962.
Ingrid Monson. Saying Something: Jazz Improvisation and Interaction. University of Chicago Press, 1997.
Thomas Owens. Bebop: The Music and Its Players. Oxford University Press, USA, 1996.
Gardner Read. Music Notation: A Manual of Modern Practice. Taplinger Publishing Co., 1979.
Scott D. Reeves. Creative Jazz Improvisation. Prentice Hall, 1988.
Gunther Schuller
Early Jazz: Its Roots and Musical Development. Oxford University Press, USA, 1986.
The Swing Era: The Development of Jazz, 1930-1945. Oxford University Press, USA, 1991.
Brian Waite. Modern Jazz Piano: A Study in Harmony and Improvisation. Wise Publications, 1987.
Guides to recordings
All Music Guide to Jazz. Backbeat Books, 4th ed., 2002.
Bielefelder Katalog: Schallplatten, Compact Discs, MusiCassetten [yes, this wonderful reference guide is in English despite its German source. As the most valuable resource ever put out on the U.S. domestic and import scene, affordable versions are most likely found in the very best used bookstores having extensive music sections].
Richard Cook and Brian Morton. The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD. Penguin Books, 7th ed., 2004.
Fantasy Jazz Catalog (prior to Fantasy’s acquisition by Concord Jazz).
Barry Kernfeld. What to Listen for in Jazz. Yale University Press, 1997 (includes CD).
History of jazz
Stanley Dance. The World of Swing. Da Capo, 1980 [not to be confused with The World of Swing: An Oral History of Big Band Jazz, a 2001 Stanley Dance Da Capo paperback with an introduction by Dan Morgenstern].
Ted Gioia
The History of Jazz. Oxford University Press, USA, 1998.
West Coast Jazz: Modern Jazz in California, 1945-1960. University of California Press, 1998.
Ira Gitler. The Masters of Bebop: A Listener’s Guide. Da Capo, expanded and updated 2001.
Joe Goldberg. Jazz Masters of the Fifties. Da Capo, 1988.
Robert Gordon. Jazz West Coast: The Los Angeles Jazz Scene of the 1950s. Quartet Books, 1990.
Richard Hadlock. Jazz Masters of the Twenties: The Roots of Jazz. Da Capo, 1986.
Kenny Mathieson. Cookin’: Hard Bop and Soul Jazz. 1954-65. Canongate, U.S., 2002.
Ben Sidran. Black Talk. Da Capo, 1988.
Marshall W. Stearns. The Story of Jazz. Oxford University Press, USA, 1970.
Rex Stewart. Jazz Masters of the Thirties. Da Capo, 1988.
Barry Ulanov. A History of Jazz in America. Da Capo, 1972.
Martin Williams, ed.
The Art of Jazz: Essays on the Nature and Development of Jazz. Oxford University Press, USA, 1959.
Jazz Masters of New Orleans. Macmillan Publishing Co., 1967.
The Jazz Tradition. Oxford University Press, USA, 1993.
And one CD
Leonard Bernstein. Bernstein on Jazz: What Is Jazz? Sony-SMK 60566 [featuring Bessie Smith, Louis Armstrong, Buck Clayton All Stars, Miles Davis Quintet, Teo Macero].