30-Second Jazz: The 50 most fundamental concepts in physics, each explained in half a minute

For its initiates, jazz is instinctive and engagingthe way that popular music should be. For non-aficionados, it can be slippery and difficult to grasp: without familiar forms or a hard-and-fast format, and largely ruled by improvisation, jazz leaves the novice baffled, not sure how to listen, and asking "how is it that they know what to play?"30-Second Jazz explains, in easy, short riffs that keep you engaged, taking readers from the African-American roots of jazz all the way to today's global mix of musicians and styles. Along the way, it looks at the shape, style, and instruments of jazz, at key personalities and recordings in the jazz canonand at what might be expected next from this most diverse of musical forms.

Table of Contents:
6 Foreword 8 Introduction Chapter 1: THE SHAPE OF JAZZ 12 GLOSSARY 14 Bands, big and small 16 How the parts function 18 How do they know what to play? 20 The jazz language and how it's learned 22 Where jazz was played in the past 24 Where jazz is played now 26 The diversity of styles 28 PROFILE: Duke EllingtonChapter 2: STYLES OF JAZZ 32 GLOSSARY 34 New Orleans & classic jazz 36 Swing 38 Orchestral jazz 40 Bebop to Hard Bop 42 Bossa Nova to Freedom 44 Jazz Rock and Fusion 46 European Jazz 48 PROFILE: Charlie ParkerChapter 3: INSTRUMENTS OF JAZZ 52 GLOSSARY 54 Brass: trumpet & trombone 56 Saxophones, clarinet, flute 58 Piano 60 Bass (double bass & bass guitar) 62 Drums & percussion 64 Guitar (acoustic & electric) 66 Jazz specialties: vibraphone, Hammond organ, Fender Rhodes Jelectric piano 68 PROFILE: Louis ArmstrongChapter 4: VOCAL JAZZ 72 GLOSSARY 74 Divas 76 Great American Songbook: Men 78 Great American Songbook: Women 80 Jazz Entertainers 82 Vocal Groups 84 Scat & Vocalese 86 Contemporaries 88 PROFILE: Ella FitzgeraldChapter 5: CLASSIC JAZZ ALBUMS 92 GLOSSARY 94 Louis Armstrong: Satch Plays Fats 96 Benny Goodman: Carnegie Hall Concert 98 Count Basie: The Atomic Basie 100 Miles Davis: Kind of Blue 102 John Coltrane: A Love Supreme 104 Weather Report: Black Market 106 Michael Brecker: Now You See It, Now You Don't 108 Keith Jarrett: The Köln Concert 110 PROFILE: Miles DavisChapter 6: JAZZ & THE BLUES 114 GLOSSARY 116 A Shared History 118 Characteristics: Early Blues 120 Jazz & Blues Meet 122 Blues & Big Bands 124 Boogie Woogie 126 Electric Guitar (BB King, T-Bone Walker) 128 Jazz & Blues-Rock Explosion 130 Profile: PROFILE: BB KingChapter 7: TODAY IS THE QUESTION 134 GLOSSARY 136 Citizens of the World (Israel, Benin, Cuba etc) 138 Beyond Bop 140 Technophiles 142 Maverick Adventurers 144 Avant Now 148 Second law 150 Third law 152 Profile: James Clerk-Maxwell154 Notes on Contributors 156 Resources 158 Index 160 Acknowledgements

About the Author :
Dave Gelly, consultant editor, was born at the height of the Swing era. He studied English and Anthropology at Cambridge University, where he played saxophone in the award-winning University band, the line-up for which included Art Themen and Lionel Grigson. From the mid-1960s he co-led his own quartets and quintets with Frank Ricotti, Jeff Scott, and Barbara Thompson. He was also a member of the New Jazz Orchestra, directed by Neil Ardley. He has written extensively on jazz, and has been voted Jazz Writer of the Year. He joined the Observer in 1974 and has written regularly for them ever since.