How to listen to jazz
by Ted Gioia · first published 2016
86% recommend14% neutral
Why HN recommends it
An accessible, general starting point for understanding jazz. It is more readable than Ted Gioia's encyclopedic History of Jazz and suits newcomers and curious listeners, opening up new music to them.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Music scholar Ted Gioia presents a lively, accessible introduction to the art of listening to jazz. Covering everything from the music's structure and history to the basic building blocks of improvisation, Gioia discusses what to listen for in a jazz performance. He shares listening strategies that will help readers understand and appreciate jazz, and provides a history of the major movements in jazz right up to the present day.
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
For anyone who doesn’t know, Ted Gioia has published books like West Coast Jazz: 1945-1960, Delta Blues, and How To Listen To Jazz. I’m still reading through the first two and I can highly recommend them to anyone curious about the historical aspect of jazz / blues.
on “Books That Changed How I Hear Music” ↗"How To Listen to Jazz" is phenomenal. I picked it up on a whim, not even knowing who Ted Gioia is but I've loved it so far. Its opened me up to some new tunes I didn't know about.
on “Ted Gioia: The history of music innovation [video]” ↗I'll check it out. Thanks. Also worthy of mention is Gioia's history of jazz. And I haven't read it, but his How to listen to jazz is highly regarded and considered to be not quite so encyclopedic.
on “Ford Dabney might have been the first jazz star” ↗Spot on assessment of “The History of Jazz” (just finished it myself). It’s probably more of a reference book than anything else. For actual reading, his “How to Listen to Jazz” is probably much better - and covers quite a bit of the same ground.
on “Ted Gioia: The history of music innovation [video]” ↗…fantastic too. I highly recommend them all. "West Coast Jazz" is probably my favourite, a fantastic guide and history to so many great players who didn't get their due by dint of being on the "wrong coast". "How to Listen To Jazz" and "History of Jazz" are fantastic, more general starting points. He and Garry Giddens are my two favourite jazz writers, hands down.
on “When Louis Armstrong conquered Chicago” ↗Read How To Listen To Jazz
on “Ask HN: How to Become a Music Buff?” ↗…life but how his theme has remained the same for thousands of years. Zone will have a lasting impact on my ideological outlook for the remainder of my life. As a break from hard topics, I am now reading How to Listen to Jazz, as an avid jazz listener.
on “By Quitting Social Media You Could Read 200 Books a Year” ↗