Jazz Makers – Vanguards of Sound

Written for younger readers, this is a set of fifty biographies of major jazz figures, which add up to a short history of jazz. In addition, there
are short lives of many other significant musicians, and a very generous resources section which lists further listening, reading and web-browsing.
It spans lives from Scott Joplin and Bessie Smith to David Murray and Geri Allen, as well as devoting attention to several non-American pioneers of
jazz.
Contents:

• The Pioneers, including Scott Joplin, Louis Armstrong, and Bessie Smith
• Swing Bands and Soloists, with Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, and Billie Holiday
• The Piano Giants, featuring Fats Waller, Art Tatum, and Mary Lou Williams
• Birth of Bebop, including Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, and Miles Davis
• Cool Jazz, Hard Bop, and Fusion, with John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, and Stan Getz
• A Century of Jazz, featuring Wynton Marsalis, Joshua Redman, and other contemporary greats.

Reviews:

"As a basic reference tool, this should be useful, given Shipton’s thorough scholarship and careful writing and his own experience as a musician."
– Mississippi Rag

"Thoughtful, concisely written portraits summarize the lives and accomplishments of performers and composers. Well captioned black-and-white photos
and many appendices accompany this useful book." — The Horn Book Guide

Links:

• Jazz Makers – Vanguards of Sound – Publishers
  Site