This is a revised and expanded version of Jazz, The Essential Companion, written by the same three authors and published by Grafton Books in 1987. It is part of a series of Rough Guides, a title which may be misleading if one takes ‘rough’ to mean (in the OED definition) ‘incomplete, rudimentary, inexact, merely passable’. How could three distinguished writers (and musicians) produce anything which was not ‘filled, fully imbued, well-stocked’ or, as the OED neatly defines such qualities, ‘replete’?
So, what we have here is an excellent jazz reference book listing over 1,600 musicians, each with the place and date of birth (and death, where applicable), a concise summary of achievements, importance and usually a selected list of notable or typical recordings. In the previous Essential Companion, various technical terms were interspersed alphabetically amongst the names of the musicians, which meant, for example, that the description of bebop occurred between Benu, Heinie and Bechet, Sidney. The new guide places all such terms in a separate glossary at the end, making it easier to find out what a critic means when he refers to ‘world music’ or ‘atonality’, for example.
The catchment area of the musicians covered in the main biographical section is wide-ranging and catholic, with plenty of coverage given to non-American figures. Some indication of the scope of the book may be judged from the fact that Zutty Singleton, Len Skeat, Noble Sissle and a bass player calling himself Sirone (real name Norris Jones) are all covered on one page. A useful listing of the surnames page-by-page occurs in the margins, making it easier to locate the soloist you are after as you flick through the book. The illustrations are of necessity small, and several of them are reproductions of LP or CD sleeves where the chosen subject figures prominently. A great deal of hard work has gone into locating precise birth/death dates (although I must point out one omission I spotted; Al Klink died on March 7, 1991).
This is an excellent and up-to-date reference book, certainly very good value for money and worthy of a place on any jazz enthusiast’s shelves. (I’m not saying that simply because the authors are friends of mine; it happens to be the truth.) I know I shall be using it frequently and I suppose my only criticism may come later when the soft covers begin to show signs of wear.
Jazz – The Rough Guide, by Ian Carr, Digby Fairweather and Brian Priestley. Published by Rough Guides Ltd, London W8 5TZ and distributed by the Penguin Group. Paperback 754 pp, 288 b & w photos, ISBN1-85828-137-7. £16.99
