Rating: 
Summary: Buy, but don't upgrade.
Review: If you haven't bought one of these books, buy this one. If you own the 5th edition, however, save your money.You have three primary choices for these "jazz guides": All Music Guide, MusicHound, and Penguin. AMG includes reviews of out-of-print CDs, and older LPs, which can be frustrating because you'll read glowing reviews of albums you won't be able to find. MusicHound is a compilation of reviews by different authors, so you can forget about any kind of consistency. Penguin is informative, contemporary, and consistent. It's your best choice. This book features 1601 pages of CD reviews and artist biographies, not including the introduction and index. Whatever your level of knowledge, however long you've spent listening to jazz, you're sure to discover something new in this book. And that's a tremendous reward for Amazon's price. On the other hand, as an update, this edition doesn't impress me. Significant artists like Mel Lewis and Carl Fontana still lack entries. Mick Goodrick, Christian McBride, and others have actually been removed. The artists suggest, in their introduction, that those noting omissions should get a life. Of course, no one's perfect. There are, however, both minor omissions and glaring omissions, and this edition still includes too many of the latter. Jim McNeely, for example, is listed on page 1005, along with four of his CDs -- the most recent, from 1992. The authors ignore "The Power and the Glory" [Storyville, 2001] and "Play Bill Evans" [Stunt Records, 2002], which are forgivable omissions. I believe "In This Moment" [Stunt Records, 2003] was released too late to be included. But also missing are McNeely's "Lickety Split" [New World Records, 1997], which was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1998; "Nice Work" [Dacapo Records, 2000], which was nominated for two Grammies in 2001; and "Group Therapy" [OmniTone, 2001], which was nominated for a Grammy in 2002. You'd think an artist nominated for four Grammies would receive a more complete listing in a book like this. These are limited examples of a larger trend: this edition doesn't show enough improvement over its previous edition to be worth updating. If you don't own the Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD yet, then my criticisms are nitpicks. It's a great investment for a reasonable price, and you should buy it. If you already own an older edition, however, I can't recommend you buy this. Spend your money buying a new CD, instead. Let's hope that 2005 will bring a 7th edition that will amaze us all, anew.
Rating:
Summary: A bargain considering the volume
Review: It's hard to believe that these two guys have listened to this much music and lived to write about it. A lot of other reviewers are comparing this book to the freely available online All Music Guide. What sets this tome apart from AMG is the higher expectations that Cook and Morton have for a jazz recording. On AMG, you see many four and five star reviews. Here an artist has to scratch and claw to get a four star review and a five star review is only rarely given for a truly seminal work. On the downside, the Penguin Guide only includes recordings in print and available in England. AMG has a much more complete discography for each artist and includes track listings of most recordings. Also given the size of this book, a lot of an artist's recordings are lumped together into one review which can sometimes be frustrating. Still, the Penguin Guide is invaluable in providing a more even balance of European artists that don't get as much attention on AMG. Both guides are essential.
Rating: 
Summary: The best of its kind
Review: Having browsed the fifth edition of this large book at the library for a couple of days, I put it on my Christmas wish list. And I got it, and even the new sixth edition! I started skimming the pages, seeing the beautiful layout of the text and headings, and I was again hooked. It may be difficult to choose from all the jazz encyclopedias on the market, but if you ever have come across this book there'll be little reason to dwelve into other volumes. This massive reference has all a jazz fan would ever need: small biographical notes, comprehensive discography including ratings of each album, list of musicians for each album, and critical and witty comments by the two authors, Richard Cook and Brian Morton. Besides the reference itself, there's an introduction and a complete and extensive index. The most acclaimed jazzmen of all time, Miles Davis, John Coltrane etc. takes up a lot of space naturally (up to 14 pages), but otherwise entries normally doesn't span more than a page or two. Cook and Morton knows exactly the scope of each musician, and therefore each musician is giving the correct amount of text. One complaint has to be noted. It's impossible to remember it all! That's no not so much a problem with the book, but a problem with the reader. Though they are stereotypical, the comments on the first page sums it up really nice: "This masterpiece of compilation ... provides the newcomer with an easy to use and accessible introduction .. for the regular jazz collector it is the first truly comprehensive and critical reference source (of its kind)." And: "It must be one of the most elegantly written and useful books ever to have appeared about jazz." Truly a gem, not just for hardcore jazz fans, but also for casual listeners, newcomers, or even listeners not accustomed to jazz.
Rating:
Summary: Cook and Morton -- THE Guide to Recorded Jazz
Review: It's a tough job, sitting around listening to all the new jazz for Penguin, but someone's got to do it, and Cook & Morton have done it for the 5th time! The giant new edition has dropped, and it's a beauty, with a cool blue cover and over 1600 two-column pages of reviews. Some talk as if this book had any competition -- get real! That would be AMG, and it's online. This is THE ONE! A category of gripers seems to be the mainstream bop crowd, who want to stop the clock before 1959, but Cook & Morton simply do not leave out any serious jazz, which of course includes bop. Yes, they include the avant-garde, but if you don't like it, then don't read those reviews! Their approach is catholic -- inclusive. One type of "jazz fan" definitely won't like this guide, and that is people who think Kenny G plays jazz. Cook & Morton mince no words in their introduction: "We have decided again to dismiss many records which amount to little more than easy-listening, instrumental or vocal music with only the vaguest of jazz connotations. The radio format in America known as "smooth jazz" includes a great deal of this kind of thing." So it comes down to recommendations for 2 groups, those new to Cook & Morton, and those who already have an earlier edition: 1) If you haven't yet encountered Cook & Morton, and you either are or are becoming a serious jazz fan, then you must have this book -- it's that simple. You will be amazed at what you don't know, and will soon learn! 2) If you already have an earlier edition, it's chancier whether you "need" the new 5th or not. My first edition of C&M was the Third (purple, 1996). The Fourth (orange, 1999) just wasn't the same -- as many others have noted, some sort of update would be just the ticket when you've already been through most of the older releases. If you keep up with new releases by reading such publications as Down Beat (mainstream), Cadence, Coda, Signal to Noise or The Wire (all of which emphasize the avant-garde), then you are likely to find that the additions to the latest C&M are very patchy compared to what you already know. One last word for fellow enthusiasts of the avant-garde, who may just discovering it via/despite Ken Burns -- Cook & Morton is a bible of sorts, but here are three more indispensable introductions: A) "Free Jazz" by Jost, B) "The Freedom Principle" by Litweiler, and C) "As Serious As Your Life" by Wilmer. All three have recently been reprinted -- go for it!
Rating:
Summary: Yields consistent pleasure
Review: "**** Very fine: an outstanding record that yields consistent pleasure and is a splendid example of the artist's work." This quotation from the introduction is equally applicable to The Penguin guide to Jazz on CD itself, if only the word "record" (shouldn't that be CD?) is changed to "book". In fact, in accordance with Amazonian grade inflation, I will give it a fifth star, because it is one of a kind, totally original, and utterly indispensable. I can't seriously imagine that anyone who likes jazz, wants to know more about jazz, or ever buys jazz CDs would want to be without this book. It costs less than 2 CDs, yields many hours of pleasurable reading, and if you buy even a few CDs a year it will save you from wasting money on lesser recordings. If you just go out and see how rarely the jazz CDs available in your local mall match Cook and Morton's selections, you will appreciate this. Quite honestly, I just wish there was an equivalent book for other forms of popular music too. Some reviewers have commented on the 'eurocentric' focus of this book with regard to available recordings. All I can say is that I have always been able to obtain top rated CDs here in the States through Amazon or other online jazz resources.
Rating: 
Summary: Intentional Oversights?
Review: Prior to purchasing this book, I went on a Jazz CD buying spree
(SunRa- Futuristic Sounds Of, Nothing Is; Pharoah Sanders- Tauhid; Art Ensemble Of Chicago- Americans Swinging in Paris; Dollar Brand- Portrait of a South African Village) I was excited to see the reviewers take on these great discs, and to get some suggestions for future purchases. To my surprise, NONE of these Cds were reviewed or even mentioned in this book! What is the reason for this? ...this book only covers recordings that are in print at the time of publication. Obviously, this is more of an annoyance than a service. Certain albums go in and out of print all the time, and even then one can easily purchase used CDs on the web, so why not just cover all bases, and give a complete view of each artists' oeuvre?
Rating:
Summary: THE Best Jazz Guide!
Review: If the story of jazz is best found in the music itself, this is, far and away, your best guide to CDs. IT is simply the best jazz review book available. The authors have exceptionally good, eclectic tastes; I detected no particular biases here. Other reviewers have complained a little about the relative emphasis on English and European performers. I found that this improved the coverage of jazz, and did not feel that American performers were slighted. Besides, these performers are excellent, perhaps underrated in America, and often record alongside musicians from many countries! The authors clearly explain their rating system, and there is a valuable emphasis on the sound quality of the recordings. Excellent notes on personnel and dates of recording: This is important because publishers seem to constantly repackage their jazz CDs, sometimes the only way to know what you've got is to compare personnel and dates. Another strength here is the biographies of the performers. There's lots of detail, and, as in the reviews, the authors don't refrain from fully critiqueing the records. Unfortuantely, this new edition does not have the small section on compilation CDs (i.e., Special limited-time gatherings of great musicians, such as the All-Star Metronome Band. Perhaps these are no longer in print, or they are now listed under the principle player(s), at any rate, I preferred the prior method of listing these separately.) I think the reviews are fair and insightful. Of course, you'll disagree with some of them, but this is really an excellent guide to jazz musicians and their output. Their choice of musicians is thorough and appropriate (scant attention is paid to "light" jazz/pop artists such as Kenny G., etc., favoring instead performers ranging from Armstrong and Basie, bebop and big band, to contemporary musicians like Metheny and Krall. The only question is whether you should wait for the next edition. I recommend buying every edition (if you can), new mixes, box sets, and re-done CDs are, perhaps unfortunately because of the confusion, coming out all of the time. But between this and the last edition (despite my one reservation above), this will map better onto what's available. Very highly recommended for the serious fan, and for beginners who want to learn a LOT more!
Rating:
Summary: Frustrating...
Review: ...but wonderful, too. This book is frustrating because of all it omits. You'd think that many--if not most--of the people buying this book are pretty serious jazz collectors. Oddly, the authors leave out numerous limited editions (including most Mosaic sets, which simply boggles the mind), rarities, out-of-print discs, "unofficial releases," and so forth. These are precisely the things serious collectors are often looking for. Why doesn't the book deal more with such discs? After all, sessions that are rare today are likely to be re-released tomorrow, so it would be nice to have a review on hand. That said, the writing in this book is erudite, elegant, witty, and pleasingly frank--the authors have no compunction about deflating overrated albums and sending sacred cows off to slaughter. Another of the great strengths of this guide is that it reviews each artist's recordings in chronological order, tracing the artist's development across the course of multiple reviews. Hardly a perfect guide, then, but a darn good one. And even if you don't agree with the review verdicts (though most of them seem spot on), you'll still most likely enjoy browsing through this volume. There's something interesting and entertaining on nearly every page.
Rating:
Summary: Gold standard but with factual errors
Review: I really like this book on thw whole. It is excellent in breadth and depth. I do, however, find it a little odd that they have missed out John Coltrane releases that are available in UK or at least doid not mention those that are not and have also gotten the personnel and instruments incorrect at times. For example, the personnel for Kula Se Mama and Ascension are mixed up. It notes in the review for one CD something in the review for Live in Japan, although the latter review does not appear. It fails to mention that Coltrane plays bass clarinet and flute in Live in Village Vanguard Again!, it puts Elivin Jones down as playing something other than drums in the '60s Classic quartet and during a number of reviews for other artists suggests that Ali played the bells on Interstellar Space (which would only have been possible had he grown some extra arms). These, and many other, details aside, it still remains the gold standard reference to Jazz CD's. What I find incrediable is the authors ability to critically appraise ALL types of Jazz. Recommended to the Jazz novice Miss UK 1860
Rating:
Summary: Solid Value for Money
Review: The great thing about reviews is that no one ever really agrees on what is great and what is just ordinary. This book makes fun reading although I certainly do not use it as a strict buying guide. The fact that it references so many CDs is its key value because you can look up artists and CDs and get an opinion and some context on them. Therefore this is a great guide if you plan to collect jazz music. In my experience collecting jazz music is a bit of a journey and there are many paths to go down. This book is not perfect, it misses plenty of albums, but lists many more. It certainly lacks a decent overview of jazz history or a listing of seminal recordings. An intro of this type, as in the Gramophone classic CD guide, would be quite worthwhile. But overall, I'd recommend it for anyone who is a collector of jazz music.
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