The most recommended books about jazz

Who picked these books? Meet our 126 experts.

126 authors created a book list connected to jazz, and here are their favorite jazz books.
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Book cover of The Freedom Principle: Jazz After 1958

Paul Steinbeck Author Of Sound Experiments: The Music of the AACM

From my list on creative music.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a musician and an author. Many of my mentors and collaborators are members of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), a collective organization of African American composers and performers founded on the South Side of Chicago in 1965. Their farthest-reaching innovation, a form known as “creative music,” transformed the fields of jazz and experimental music by breaking down the barriers that—prior to the advent of the AACM—had separated the disciplines of composition and improvisation. My book Sound Experiments and the other books on the list give readers new insights into the members of the AACM and their groundbreaking music.

Paul's book list on creative music

Paul Steinbeck Why did Paul love this book?

In The Freedom Principle, Chicago music critic John Litweiler examines the AACM’s connections to the experimental styles of jazz that emerged in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Figures such as Ornette Coleman and John Coltrane were important early influences on the AACM, and Litweiler shows how their work became the foundation for the even more radical advances of AACM composers and improvisers. The Freedom Principle is also replete with wonderful stories from the AACM’s first two decades, including Henry Threadgill’s account of how he created the hubkaphone, a percussion instrument made from salvaged hubcaps.

By John Litweiler,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Freedom Principle as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

}Ornette Coleman's discovery some thirty years ago that his band's music was indeed a "free thing" marked the beginning of a revolution in jazz. From the early free-form experiments, Coleman's dancing blues, and John Coltrane's saxophone cries and sheets of sound, to the brittle, melancholy modes of Miles Davis, vibrant, sophisticated new jazz idioms proliferated. In this critical and historical survey of today's jazz, noted critic John Litweiler traces the evolution of the new music through such artists as Coleman, Coltrane, Davis, Cecil Taylor, Eric Dolphy, Sun Ra, Albert Ayler, Anthony Braxton, and others. He also addresses questions such as:…


Book cover of Johnny Mandel Songbook: The Shadow of Your Smile and Other Great Songs

Jeb Patton Author Of Introduction to Jazz Piano, A Deep Dive

From my list on for playing jazz tunes and standards on the piano.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been the pianist for the Heath Brothers and the Jimmy Heath Quartet for over 20 years. Since moving to NYC in 1996, I’ve had the honor of playing and recording with an assortment of jazz luminaries including Charles McPherson, Roberta Gambarini, Lewis Nash, Winard Harper, Rodney Green, Michael Rodriguez, David Wong, among many others. During that time, I’ve also been actively involved in teaching, arranging, and writing, having three books published by Chuck Sher since 2013, An Approach to Comping Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 and Introduction to Jazz Piano, A Deep Dive.

Jeb's book list on for playing jazz tunes and standards on the piano

Jeb Patton Why did Jeb love this book?

Again, this one offers many of the favorites by the great composer as well as some gems that are seldom played. The piano part is orchestrated in a way that elevates each composition and offers insights into Johnny Mandel’s incredible arranging skills. This book offers a masterclass on voice leading and how to create chord movement.

By Johnny Mandel,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Johnny Mandel Songbook as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

PIANO*VOCAL*CHORDS: *All I Want for Christmas Is You (A Christmas Love Song) * Cinnamon and Clove * Close Enough for Love * Don't Look Back * El Cajon * Emily * I Never Told You * I Won't Believe My Eyes * I've Been Around * Little Did I Dream * Living Without You * Lovers After All * Quietly There * The Shadow of Your Smile * The Shining Sea * Solitary Moon * Song from M*A*S*H (Suicide Is Painless) * Take Me Home * A Time for Love * Unless It's You * Where Do You Start? *…


Book cover of I Am Jazz

Christine J. Ko Author Of Sound Switch Wonder

From my list on promoting curiosity about our differences.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love reading, partly because I believe in the power of books to feed curiosity, promoting understanding, inclusivity, and belonging. While growing up, my favorite books didn’t have anyone that looked like me. Through reading diverse books to my kids, I realized I’d missed out on this meaningful experience as a child. Even more, I wanted my son, who has bilateral cochlear implants, to be able to read a picture book with a main character with cochlear implants. I hope you enjoy the books on this list as, in unique ways, they all celebrate curiosity about our differences.

Christine's book list on promoting curiosity about our differences

Christine J. Ko Why did Christine love this book?

I read this book to my son when he was in second grade because his classroom was paired with a seventh-grade classroom in his school buddy system.

One of the seventh graders was transgender, and the school recommended this book. In simple prose, the book introduces the concept of being transgender in a way that both my son and I could understand, and we both appreciated that it is based on the author’s real-life experience.

Two favorite lines: “Be who you are.” And, “Different is special!”

By Jessica Herthel, Jazz Jennings, Shelagh McNicholas (illustrator)

Why should I read it?

1 author picked I Am Jazz as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 4, 5, 6, and 7.

What is this book about?

From the time she was two years old, Jazz knew that she had a girl's brain in a boy's body. She loved pink and dressing up as a mermaid and didn't feel like herself in boy's clothing. This confused her family, until they took her to a doctor who said that Jazz was transgender and that she was born that way. Jazz's story is based on her real-life experience and she tells it in a simple, clear way that will be appreciated by picture book readers, their parents, and teachers.


Book cover of In Search of Buddy Bolden: First Man of Jazz

Lilian Terry Author Of Dizzy, Duke, Brother Ray, and Friends: On and Off the Record with Jazz Greats

From my list on to welcome you to the magical world of jazz.

Why am I passionate about this?

Lilian Terry’s background is quite out-of-the-ordinary. Born in Egypt in 1930 to Maltese and Italian parents, she undertook academic studies in Cairo and Florence. Terry studied classical piano until age 17, developing an interest in jazz in her early teens. She participated in a variety of ways with jazz in Europe, beginning in the 1950s. As a singer, she was an active performer and recording artist. At the same time, she produced radio and television shows for Italy’s RAI network, and this activity led to some of her encounters with major figures of American jazz. Seven of these interactions (most of which spanned decades) are the subject of Dizzy, Duke, Brother Ray, and Friends.

Lilian's book list on to welcome you to the magical world of jazz

Lilian Terry Why did Lilian love this book?

Donald Marquis takes you firmly by the hand and leads you into that Wonderland that was New Orleans from 1877, when Bolden was born; then through the brief but extraordinary rise of Bolden’s personality and the powerful sound of his trumpet echoing through the streets of New Orleans. The author brings out Buddy’s tragic descent into mental illness, his entrance into the Insane Asylum of Louisiana, and his untimely death in 1930 at the young age of thirty-three. The book is a very sober tale of life in those times, it is rooted in the political and artistic history of jazz music and a very touching homage to a ghost. Today there are people wondering if Buddy Bolden really did exist?

By Donald M. Marquis,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked In Search of Buddy Bolden as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The beginnings of jazz and the story of Charles ""Buddy"" Bolden (1877- 1931) are inextricably intertwined. Just after the turn of the century, New Orleanians could often hear Bolden's powerful horn from the city's parks and through dance hall windows. Despite his lack of formal training, his unique style- both musical and personal- made him the first ""king"" of New Orleans jazz and the inspiration for such later jazz greats as King Oliver, Kid Ory, and Louis Armstrong.

For years the legend of Buddy Bolden was overshadowed by myths about his music, his reckless lifestyle, and his mental instability. In…


Book cover of Problems of Dostoevsky's Poetics

Charles Hersch Author Of Subversive Sounds: Race and the Birth of Jazz in New Orleans

From my list on jazz’s connection to democracy.

Why am I passionate about this?

Music has always spoken to my innermost being, and coming of age in the late 1960s, I’ve been drawn to the quest for justice and equality in politics.  In my undergraduate studies at Berkeley, the late political theorist Michael Rogin, who interpreted Moby Dick as a parable of 19th Century race relations, taught me that my two interests could be combined.  As a professor of Political Science I’ve written books and articles that explore music’s ability to express ideas about politics, race, and ethnicity in sometimes unappreciated ways. 

Charles' book list on jazz’s connection to democracy

Charles Hersch Why did Charles love this book?

Although not about jazz or even music, this rich text provides a foundation for thinking about jazz democratically and has influenced some of the above-mentioned authors. Bakhtin argues that artworks have the potential to put multiple voices in conversation with one another without resolving them to a single point of view. The epitome of such artworks was what he called, using a musical metaphor, the “polyphonic novel” pioneered by Dostoevsky. Such artworks embody and encourage a “broadening of consciousness,” an openness to the voices of others that is the essence of democracy at its best.  

By Mikhail Bakhtin,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Problems of Dostoevsky's Poetics as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This book is not only a major twentieth-century contribution to Dostoevsky's studies, but also one of the most important theories of the novel produced in our century. As a modern reinterpretation of poetics, it bears comparison with Aristotle."Bakhtin's statement on the dialogical nature of artistic creation, and his differentiation of this from a history of monological commentary, is profoundly original and illuminating. This is a classic work on Dostoevsky and a statement of importance to critical theory." Edward Wasiolek"Concentrating on the particular features of 'Dostoevskian discourse,' how Dostoevsky structures a hero and a plot, and what it means to write…


Book cover of From Dust to Stardust: A Novel

Rita Dragonette Author Of The Fourteenth of September

From Rita's 3 favorite reads in 2023.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Consultant Historian Psychologist Feminist Traveler

Rita's 3 favorite reads in 2023

Rita Dragonette Why did Rita love this book?

This fictionalized story is about one of Hollywood’s biggest silent film stars (Colleen Moore), on whom the three movies entitled A Star is Born are based.

Yes, it’s rags to riches for Doreen O’Dare, a determined teenager who follows her dream and makes it to the top, but who also sees the writing on the wall with the transition to talkies. She’s been sharp about her money, and changes course to follow another dream--making it to the top again, this time her way. 

In the process, Rooney reveals fascinating details about the making of silent films-- how actors and directors grew up with the industry, learning as they went, not always knowing what they were doing, little fish often surpassing big fish. And of her sad love story with a publicity genius who makes her a star but can’t keep up with her.

The parallel narrative is how her love…

By Kathleen Rooney,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked From Dust to Stardust as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the bestselling author of Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk comes a novel about Hollywood, the cost of stardom, and selfless second acts, inspired by an extraordinary true story.

Chicago, 1916. Doreen O'Dare is fourteen years old when she hops a Hollywood-bound train with her beloved Irish grandmother. Within a decade, her trademark bob and insouciant charm make her the preeminent movie flapper of the Jazz Age. But her success story masks one of relentless ambition, tragedy, and the secrets of a dangerous marriage.

Her professional life in flux, Doreen trades one dream for another. She pours her wealth and…


Book cover of The Birth of Bebop: A Social and Musical History

Dennis McNally Author Of On Highway 61: Music, Race, and the Evolution of Cultural Freedom

From my list on jazz and the story it tells about America.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have a sophisticated education, including a Ph.D. in History from the University of Massachusetts. I have had a career, if that’s precisely the word, in the music business as the publicist for the Grateful Dead. I spent ten years researching what became On Highway 61. I have been a close observer of America’s racial politics at least since 1962, when the head of the Hollywood NAACP, James Tolbert, and his family, moved in next door to my family’s home in the white working-class neighborhood of Pacoima in the San Fernando Valley. Mr. Tolbert instructed me in music among other things, and I’ve been studying ever since.

Dennis' book list on jazz and the story it tells about America

Dennis McNally Why did Dennis love this book?

When I began my book I’d been out of graduate school for 25 years. I read deeply to see what I’d missed and discovered what is now called cultural history. It seems to me that a great deal of it is written to a template rather than directly from the facts as discovered. Even though DeVeaux comes out of the academic world, I get no such sense from Bop. It’s brilliant. Immaculately researched and nicely written, it addresses the extraordinary transition of Black music from entertainment-driven (however artful) to art (however entertaining). It’s an important story, and DeVeaux tells it beautifully.

By Scott DeVeaux,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Birth of Bebop as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The richest place in America's musical landscape is that fertile ground occupied by jazz. Scott DeVeaux takes a central chapter in the history of jazz - the birth of bebop - and shows how our contemporary ideas of this uniquely American art form flow from that pivotal moment. At the same time, he provides an extraordinary view of the United States in the decades just prior to the civil rights movement. DeVeaux begins with an examination of the Swing Era, focusing particularly on the position of African American musicians. He highlights the role played by tenor saxophonist Coleman Hawkins, a…


Book cover of Welcome to Jazz: A Swing-Along Celebration of America's Music, Featuring "When the Saints Go Marching In"

Margaree King Mitchell Author Of When Grandmama Sings

From my list on using music and history to inspire children.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love history and learning about the lives my ancestors lived. I grew up on my grandfather’s farm in Holly Springs, Mississippi. My grandfather taught me lots of things as I watched history unfold in the segregated South. I infuse those lessons in my books. I love books in which the author puts some aspect of themselves in their story because I do the same. This makes the story come alive.

Margaree's book list on using music and history to inspire children

Margaree King Mitchell Why did Margaree love this book?

I love this book because it showcases the history of jazz and how it began in New Orleans. But what I love most of all is that the sounds of jazz instruments are included in the book.

Push the buttons, and you will hear drums. Push another button, a tuba—another, a trumpet, etc. I also heard singers scatting and singers improvising. Hearing the sounds of jazz brings the music to life.

By Carolyn Sloan, Jessica Gibson (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Welcome to Jazz as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 4, 5, 6, and 7.

What is this book about?

AN INTERACTIVE, SWING-ALONG PICTURE BOOK-WITH 12 SOUND CHIPS! Are you ready to swing? Discover the wonders of jazz: How to get in the groove, what it means to play a solo, and the joy of singing along in a call-and-response. In this interactive swing-along picture book with 12 sound chips, you'll hear the instruments of jazz-the rhythm section with its banjo, drums, and tuba, and the leads, like the clarinet, trumpet, and trombone. And you'll hear singers scat, improvising melodies with nonsense syllables like be-bop and doo-we-ah! Along the way, you'll learn how this unique African American art form started…


Book cover of The Chronicle of Jazz

Sammy Stein Author Of Fabulous Female Musicians

From my list on female musicians.

Why am I passionate about this?

I've been passionate about music for almost my entire life. Jazz music in particular speaks to me but not just jazz. I love music, full stop. I really discovered jazz when I attended a jazz club workshop in London and there, I had to join in or leave. I chose to join in and since then I have never looked back. I was introduced to more jazz musicians and now write about music for three major columns as well as Readers’ Digest. My Women In Jazz book won several awards. I have been International Editor for the Jazz Journalist Association and had my work commissioned by the Library of Congress. 

Sammy's book list on female musicians

Sammy Stein Why did Sammy love this book?

This was my ‘go to’ book for years when I first began to write about music and jazz music in particular.

Cooke explains many things that until then, I had only heard about. The history of jazz music is explained clearly. From Be-bop and hard bop to free jazz and the avante garde. His writing allowed me to put names to music styles I found fascinating and it was as if an author was truly speaking my language. He introduces some well-known jazz musicians and their impact on jazz music 

By Mervyn Cooke,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Chronicle of Jazz as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A year-by-year history of people and events, this lively multi-layered account tells the whole story of jazz music and its personalities. The Chronicle of Jazz charts the evolution of jazz from its roots in Africa and the southern United States to the myriad urban styles heard around the world today, Mervyn Cooke gives us a narrative rich with innovation, experimentation, controversy, and emotion. The book is completely up to date, exploring the exciting recent developments in the world of jazz, from the rise of modern Big Bands and the renaissance of the piano trio to the popular appeal of Jamie…


Book cover of Shanghai Immortal

Gigi Griffis Author Of The Wicked Unseen

From Gigi's 3 favorite reads in 2023.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Feminist History nerd Humorist

Gigi's 3 favorite reads in 2023

Gigi Griffis Why did Gigi love this book?

This book is a romp! In the upside-down, quirky version of Shanghai that is Hell, a half-vampire half-fox spirit with a saucy disposition is tasked with escorting a human through hell.

The problem is that everything in hell kind of wants to eat him. Not to mention that there’s more going on than meets the eye. This book is fast-paced, irreverent, hilariously funny, and creative as hell. 

By A. Y. Chao,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Shanghai Immortal as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

AN INSTANT #1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

'The must-read debut of 2023' Tasha Suri

'Bursting with personality' Xiran Jay Zhao

Half vampire. Half fox-spirit. All trouble.

Pawned by her mother to the King of Hell as a child, Lady Jing is half-vampire, half-hulijing fox-spirit and all sasshole. As the King's ward, she has spent the past ninety years running errands, dodging the taunts of the spiteful hulijing courtiers, and trying to control her explosive temper - with varying levels of success.

So when Jing overhears the courtiers plotting to steal a priceless dragon pearl from the King, she seizes her chance…


Book cover of The Freedom Principle: Jazz After 1958
Book cover of Johnny Mandel Songbook: The Shadow of Your Smile and Other Great Songs
Book cover of I Am Jazz

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