Rating: 
Summary: An Essential Jazz Book for Your Jazz Collection
Review: This is a rich, outrageously illustrated jazz book. You have not seen many of the photos in the book. If you have a jazz library, then Jazz will be a wonderful addition that even non- jazz persons will pick up from your coffee table.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful
Review: This is a wonderful book. First of all, it is well-written. Ward draws the reader into the life of jazz greats by making judicious use of first person accounts. He weaves their lives and stories into a broader sociohistorical context, showing, for example, how racism and economic poverty shape, and are shaped by, the music. The beautiful pictures and overall format help provide a compelling sense of the time and drama presented in the narrative. There is a lot of new information in the text even for seasoned jazz veterans. Yet the writing, and stories, are accessible to newcomers to the music. Ignore the petty sniping by some of the reviewers complaining about the abbreviated treatment that jazz from the last 40 years receives. This is a book which aims to provide a panorama of jazz AND society. So the focus, understandably, is on those musicians who have had the greatest impact on American culture (e.g., Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Miles Davis). Just hearing those names immediately evokes a certain place and time in American history. Sadly, many jazz musicians of the past 40 years have chosen to marginalize the music: the names "Lester Bowie" and "Pharoah Sanders" don't resonate for the public-at-large because, and this may be hard to take for some, the influence and popularity of the so-called avant-garde outside of the jazz intelligensia is minimal. The purpose of this book is to present a history of America's music. It overwhelmingly succeeds. I don't think the music has ever received a finer treatment in print.
Rating: 
Summary: It left me wanting more - a lot more
Review: While the content presented is excellent and well laid out, the point of view is based very much on Ken Burns' personal tastes. There are many great artist with great stories who were either glossed over or left out entirely. I recommend that anyone with an interest in jazz read this book. However, if you have a somewhat indepth knowledge of jazz history,or are looking for a particular favorite artist, you might be a little disappointed.
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