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Rating: 
Summary: Useful and informative!
Review: Mr. Tesser has written a guide that is useful as well asinformative. The history of jazz along with his recommendations in aneasy to read format makes this an essential book for anyone from the jazz novice to the fanatic.
Rating:
Summary: Useful and informative!
Review: The author has done a wonderful job of writing a very user-friendly guide to the history of jazz and many of its memorable recordings.Mr. Tesser eschews the usual encyclopedic format used by many music guides by dividing his book into sections that cover each jazz "era" in chronological order beginning with the 1920s to the present. He presents historical data concerning the trends and major players of an era, and then follows up with recordings he deems essential. The tone of the book is very appealing. You never feel as though you are being lectured on "America's Classical Music". Instead, Tesser presents his information with clear, easy to understand language and much enthusiasm which makes this book an enjoyable read. Finally, he makes use of a "hook" called the "Useful Lie" throughout the book that discusses some of the near truths of jazz history. Readers like myself who are somewhat familiar with jazz history but aren't scholars should find this enjoyable. This is not an all-inclusive history of jazz in that some readers' favorite musicians or recordings may not be discussed. A project like that would obviously take more than one volume. But in under 300 pages, Mr. Tesser has produced a book that is an excellent starting point for the investigation of jazz history and its recordings. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Jazz Reference Guide
Review: The author has done a wonderful job of writing a very user-friendly guide to the history of jazz and many of its memorable recordings. Mr. Tesser eschews the usual encyclopedic format used by many music guides by dividing his book into sections that cover each jazz "era" in chronological order beginning with the 1920s to the present. He presents historical data concerning the trends and major players of an era, and then follows up with recordings he deems essential. The tone of the book is very appealing. You never feel as though you are being lectured on "America's Classical Music". Instead, Tesser presents his information with clear, easy to understand language and much enthusiasm which makes this book an enjoyable read. Finally, he makes use of a "hook" called the "Useful Lie" throughout the book that discusses some of the near truths of jazz history. Readers like myself who are somewhat familiar with jazz history but aren't scholars should find this enjoyable. This is not an all-inclusive history of jazz in that some readers' favorite musicians or recordings may not be discussed. A project like that would obviously take more than one volume. But in under 300 pages, Mr. Tesser has produced a book that is an excellent starting point for the investigation of jazz history and its recordings. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: History AND Guide to Building a Record Collection
Review: Those who peruse the music shelves at bookstores are faced with basically two choices: either (1) extensive (or long-winded) histories, biographies and theoretical tomes or (2) various "guides to" record selection, printed in tiny type, which are more catalogs than books, and where the realities of building a record collection take a back seat to the compilation of all-encompassing lists of extant recordings. Tesser's book sythesizes the best of both types. At once history AND a guide to building a record collection, The Playboy Guide is the perfect book for someone like my incipient-collector brother in-law (a real Ella Fitzgeral fan), who needs some guidance in getting his collection more complete and well rounded. At the same time, Tesser places key jazz figures and their recordings in a proper historical context, so you know the when and the how, as well as the why. All in less than 300 pages. I'm sure that some jazz scholars will grimace at the survey nature of the book (though Tesser's intelligent perspectives, extensive knowledge of the genre, and clear writing may teach them a thing or two). And it's likely obsessive collectors will frown on its inevitable selectivity. But if you want some expert guidance on what to buy, why you should buy it, and what it means in the historical continuum of jazz, get this book.
Rating:
Summary: History AND Guide to Building a Record Collection
Review: Those who peruse the music shelves at bookstores are faced with basically two choices: either (1) extensive (or long-winded) histories, biographies and theoretical tomes or (2) various "guides to" record selection, printed in tiny type, which are more catalogs than books, and where the realities of building a record collection take a back seat to the compilation of all-encompassing lists of extant recordings. Tesser's book sythesizes the best of both types. At once history AND a guide to building a record collection, The Playboy Guide is the perfect book for someone like my incipient-collector brother in-law (a real Ella Fitzgeral fan), who needs some guidance in getting his collection more complete and well rounded. At the same time, Tesser places key jazz figures and their recordings in a proper historical context, so you know the when and the how, as well as the why. All in less than 300 pages. I'm sure that some jazz scholars will grimace at the survey nature of the book (though Tesser's intelligent perspectives, extensive knowledge of the genre, and clear writing may teach them a thing or two). And it's likely obsessive collectors will frown on its inevitable selectivity. But if you want some expert guidance on what to buy, why you should buy it, and what it means in the historical continuum of jazz, get this book.
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