Book Review
Oct. 18th, 2018 01:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kenjariHow to Listen to Jazz
by Ted Gioia
I confess that despite having a lot of respect for and a fair amount of interest in jazz, I have often found it hard to get into as a listener and concert-goer. Luckily, Gioia wrote this book, which is pretty ideal for tackling just this problem. He lays out the main features common to all (or at least most) jazz regardless of style so that the listener can orient themselves to the music, goes briefly through jazz history and the development of different styles, gives guidance for listening to a small selection of significant artists, and wraps it all up by looking forward to future trends and developments. All of it is clearly and enjoyably oriented towards the listening experience, with an emphasis on enjoyment and exploration. I especially liked Gioia's emphasis on how the music sounds rather than technical features or theory. He can be a little on the stuffy side when it comes to some of the more recent developments, especially the role of technology. But that doesn't detract from the usefulness of How to Listen to Jazz.
by Ted Gioia
I confess that despite having a lot of respect for and a fair amount of interest in jazz, I have often found it hard to get into as a listener and concert-goer. Luckily, Gioia wrote this book, which is pretty ideal for tackling just this problem. He lays out the main features common to all (or at least most) jazz regardless of style so that the listener can orient themselves to the music, goes briefly through jazz history and the development of different styles, gives guidance for listening to a small selection of significant artists, and wraps it all up by looking forward to future trends and developments. All of it is clearly and enjoyably oriented towards the listening experience, with an emphasis on enjoyment and exploration. I especially liked Gioia's emphasis on how the music sounds rather than technical features or theory. He can be a little on the stuffy side when it comes to some of the more recent developments, especially the role of technology. But that doesn't detract from the usefulness of How to Listen to Jazz.
