The New York Times Essential Library: Jazz: A Critic's Guide to the 100 Most Important Recordings
by Ben Ratliff
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Book Summary Information
Author: Ben RatliffEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2002-11-06
ISBN: 0805070680
Number of pages: 272
Publisher: Times Books
Book Reviews of The New York Times Essential Library: Jazz: A Critic's Guide to the 100 Most Important Recordings
Book Review: Decent introduction to jazz
Summary: 3 Stars
The recommendations in this book are all solid and classic. The brief essays about the recordings are fairly erudite, but I find the tone slightly pretentious at times. I agree with another reviewer in that he tends to write about himself instead of striving for a more objective description of the recordings.
Obviously, a list of 100 recordings cannot begin to justice to the enormous quantity of jazz available. Ratliff's list concentrates more on established "classics" than on modern players -- you will not find Brad Mehldau, Kenny Garrett, Kurt Rosenwinkel, or Nick Payton. Nor will you find more "approachable" but great contemporary musicians such as Kurt Elling and Luciana Souza. Because of this, I do not recommend the guide to someone who wants to get an idea of where jazz is right now. It is more of a historical introduction than a guide for modern listeners. This is not meant as criticism; that is probably what Ratliff intended.
Overall, this book would be a decent place to start for the jazz newbie (or even for the seasoned listener, who may have neglected some or many of these recordings).
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