Jazz Greats

Do "jazz greats" belong with the likes of Bart+¦k and Puccini?The editors of Phaidon's 20th-Century Composers series think so. This readable volume surveys the careers of a dozen influential figures in the development of jazz, from Buddy Bolden and Sidney Bechet to Wynton Marsalis and Keith Jarrett. Author David Perry avoids an overly analytical approach to a largely improvisational art, while still marking the ebb and flow of jazz style over the decades. When it comes to the lives of his "greats," he is steadfastly honest in recounting their failings (personal and musical) without judgment. The only quibble one might have with Perry's approach to his subject is that he seems to have discounted the undisputed importance of a number of non-black contributors to the growth and development of this music.

David Perry is a writer, film-maker and radio producer with a special interest in jazz. He has written on jazz for the Independent and the Observer, and prepared a series of jazz portraits for BBC Radio 3.