Books on Jazz (nonfiction)

1.
Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original
Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original 4.31 avg rating — 2,520 ratings
2.
Miles: The Autobiography
Miles: The Autobiography 4.21 avg rating — 16,140 ratings
3.
A Love Supreme: The Story of John Coltrane's Signature Album
A Love Supreme: The Story of John Coltrane's Signature Album 4.25 avg rating — 1,353 ratings
4.
Moving to Higher Ground: How Jazz Can Change Your Life
Moving to Higher Ground: How Jazz Can Change Your Life 3.95 avg rating — 622 ratings
5.
Blue Note: The Album Cover Art
Blue Note: The Album Cover Art 4.49 avg rating — 290 ratings
6.
Hard Bop: Jazz and Black Music 1955-1965
Hard Bop: Jazz and Black Music 1955-1965 3.84 avg rating — 136 ratings
7.
Coltrane: The Story of a Sound
Coltrane: The Story of a Sound 3.94 avg rating — 928 ratings
8.
John Coltrane: His Life and Music (The Michigan American Music Series)
John Coltrane: His Life and Music (The Michigan American Music Series) 4.16 avg rating — 605 ratings
9.
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald 3.81 avg rating — 182 ratings
10.
Dark Skies: Tales of Turbulence in Paradise
Dark Skies: Tales of Turbulence in Paradise 4.44 avg rating — 9 ratings
11.
The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire
The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire
by: Ted Gioia
4.46 avg rating — 463 ratings
12.
Kind Of Blue: The Making Of The Miles Davis Masterpiece
Kind Of Blue: The Making Of The Miles Davis Masterpiece 4.26 avg rating — 1,328 ratings
13.
Ornette Coleman: A Harmolodic Life
Ornette Coleman: A Harmolodic Life 3.82 avg rating — 77 ratings
14.
Blues People: Negro Music in White America
Blues People: Negro Music in White America 4.15 avg rating — 2,386 ratings
15.
Dance Of The Infidels: A Portrait Of Bud Powell
Dance Of The Infidels: A Portrait Of Bud Powell 4.45 avg rating — 118 ratings
16.
Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington 3.54 avg rating — 72 ratings
17.
Early Jazz: Its Roots and Musical Development
Early Jazz: Its Roots and Musical Development 4.11 avg rating — 102 ratings
18.
Half Blood Blues
Half Blood Blues 3.70 avg rating — 17,537 ratings
19.
The Bear Comes Home
The Bear Comes Home 3.84 avg rating — 630 ratings
20.
African Rhythms: The Autobiography of Randy Weston
African Rhythms: The Autobiography of Randy Weston 4.29 avg rating — 31 ratings
21.
Jazz Cosmopolitanism in Accra: Five Musical Years in Ghana
Jazz Cosmopolitanism in Accra: Five Musical Years in Ghana 3.89 avg rating — 35 ratings
22.
Blue Note Records: The Biography
Blue Note Records: The Biography 3.85 avg rating — 156 ratings
22.
The House That Trane Built: The Story of Impulse Records
The House That Trane Built: The Story of Impulse Records 4.03 avg rating — 423 ratings
24.
High Times, Hard Times
High Times, Hard Times 4.25 avg rating — 243 ratings
25.
Bass Line: The Stories and Photographs of Milt Hinton
Bass Line: The Stories and Photographs of Milt Hinton 4.50 avg rating — 26 ratings
26.
Four Lives in the Bebop Business
Four Lives in the Bebop Business 4.22 avg rating — 132 ratings
26.
Lee Konitz: Conversations on the Improviser's Art
Lee Konitz: Conversations on the Improviser's Art 4.56 avg rating — 52 ratings
28.
Lady Sings the Blues
Lady Sings the Blues 4.05 avg rating — 7,373 ratings
29.
Space is the Place: The Lives and Times of Sun Ra
Space is the Place: The Lives and Times of Sun Ra 4.21 avg rating — 1,313 ratings
30.
Chasin' the Bird: The Life and Legacy of Charlie Parker
Chasin' the Bird: The Life and Legacy of Charlie Parker 3.74 avg rating — 42 ratings
31.
First Book Of Jazz
First Book Of Jazz 4.22 avg rating — 72 ratings
32.
Music is My Mistress
Music is My Mistress 3.99 avg rating — 438 ratings
33.
"To Bird with love"
"To Bird with love" 4.50 avg rating — 2 ratings
34.
Lee Morgan: His Life, Music and Culture
Lee Morgan: His Life, Music and Culture 4.11 avg rating — 18 ratings
35.
Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong
Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong 4.15 avg rating — 964 ratings
36.
The Jazz People of New Orleans
The Jazz People of New Orleans 4.45 avg rating — 33 ratings
37.
Strange Fruit: Billie Holiday, Cafe Society, And An Early Cry For Civil Rights
Strange Fruit: Billie Holiday, Cafe Society, And An Early Cry For Civil Rights 3.87 avg rating — 1,443 ratings
38.
Treat It Gentle
Treat It Gentle 3.95 avg rating — 137 ratings
38.
Playing Changes: Jazz for the New Century
Playing Changes: Jazz for the New Century 4.13 avg rating — 653 ratings
40.
Beneath the Underdog
Beneath the Underdog 3.83 avg rating — 3,839 ratings
40.
Rabbit's Blues: The Life and Music of Johnny Hodges
Rabbit's Blues: The Life and Music of Johnny Hodges 3.92 avg rating — 24 ratings
42.
Duke Ellington's America
Duke Ellington's America 4.09 avg rating — 54 ratings
43.
Miles Davis: The Definitive Biography
Miles Davis: The Definitive Biography
by: Ian Carr
4.16 avg rating — 877 ratings
44.
A Power Stronger Than Itself: The AACM and American Experimental Music
A Power Stronger Than Itself: The AACM and American Experimental Music 4.51 avg rating — 218 ratings
44.
The Color Of Jazz
The Color Of Jazz 4.54 avg rating — 13 ratings
46.
The Blue Note Years: The Jazz Photography of Francis Wolff
The Blue Note Years: The Jazz Photography of Francis Wolff 4.68 avg rating — 56 ratings
47.
Making Jazz French: Music and Modern Life in Interwar Paris
Making Jazz French: Music and Modern Life in Interwar Paris 4.05 avg rating — 22 ratings
48.
Subversive Sounds: Race and the Birth of Jazz in New Orleans
Subversive Sounds: Race and the Birth of Jazz in New Orleans 3.90 avg rating — 21 ratings
49.
Django Reinhardt
Django Reinhardt 3.80 avg rating — 87 ratings
50.
Jazz Portraits
Jazz Portraits 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings
50.
Coltrane: Chasin' the Trane
Coltrane: Chasin' the Trane 3.96 avg rating — 295 ratings
52.
Lush Life: A Biography of Billy Strayhorn
Lush Life: A Biography of Billy Strayhorn 4.32 avg rating — 738 ratings
53.
Jazz: A History of America's Music
Jazz: A History of America's Music 4.16 avg rating — 585 ratings
54.
Billie Holiday: The Musician and the Myth
Billie Holiday: The Musician and the Myth 3.49 avg rating — 533 ratings
55.
Jazz 101: A Complete Guide to Learning and Loving Jazz
Jazz 101: A Complete Guide to Learning and Loving Jazz 3.62 avg rating — 265 ratings
56.
Being Prez
Being Prez 4.20 avg rating — 35 ratings
57.
Side Man
Side Man 3.84 avg rating — 123 ratings
58.
Visions of Jazz: The First Century
Visions of Jazz: The First Century 4.18 avg rating — 390 ratings
58.
Jazz Cleopatra: Josephine Baker in Her Time
Jazz Cleopatra: Josephine Baker in Her Time 3.90 avg rating — 182 ratings
60.
The Jazz Loft Project: Photographs and Tapes of W. Eugene Smith from 821 Sixth Avenue, 1957-1965
The Jazz Loft Project: Photographs and Tapes of W. Eugene Smith from 821 Sixth Avenue, 1957-1965 4.47 avg rating — 111 ratings
61.
Ella Fitzgerald: A Twentieth-Century Life
Ella Fitzgerald: A Twentieth-Century Life 3.58 avg rating — 67 ratings
62.
Heroes of Blues, Jazz, and Country
Heroes of Blues, Jazz, and Country 4.27 avg rating — 851 ratings
63.
Talking Jazz: An Oral History
Talking Jazz: An Oral History 4.10 avg rating — 29 ratings
63.
Jazz In The Bittersweet Blues Of Life
Jazz In The Bittersweet Blues Of Life 3.82 avg rating — 121 ratings
65.
Louis Armstrong: An American Genius
Louis Armstrong: An American Genius 3.75 avg rating — 57 ratings
66.
Moins Qu'un Chien
Moins Qu'un Chien 3.83 avg rating — 3,839 ratings
67.
Mr. P.C: The Life and Music of Paul Chambers
Mr. P.C: The Life and Music of Paul Chambers 3.44 avg rating — 9 ratings
68.
Carmen McRae: Miss Jazz
Carmen McRae: Miss Jazz 3.17 avg rating — 12 ratings
68.
The History of Jazz
The History of Jazz
by: Ted Gioia
4.08 avg rating — 5,421 ratings
70.
The Swing Era: The Development of Jazz, 1930-1945
The Swing Era: The Development of Jazz, 1930-1945 4.24 avg rating — 74 ratings
70.
Glenn Miller & His Orchestra
Glenn Miller & His Orchestra 4.02 avg rating — 49 ratings
72.
Benny Goodman and the Swing Era
Benny Goodman and the Swing Era 3.61 avg rating — 31 ratings
73.
The Uncrowned King of Swing: Fletcher Henderson and Big Band Jazz
The Uncrowned King of Swing: Fletcher Henderson and Big Band Jazz 4.58 avg rating — 12 ratings
74.
Kansas City Lightning: The Rise and Times of Charlie Parker
Kansas City Lightning: The Rise and Times of Charlie Parker 3.88 avg rating — 962 ratings
75.
A Trumpet around the Corner: The Story of New Orleans Jazz (American Made Music Series)
A Trumpet around the Corner: The Story of New Orleans Jazz (American Made Music Series) 3.76 avg rating — 49 ratings
75.
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings 4.44 avg rating — 497 ratings
77.
Different Drummers: Jazz in the Culture of Nazi Germany
Different Drummers: Jazz in the Culture of Nazi Germany 4.08 avg rating — 24 ratings
77.
Riding On A Blue Note: Jazz And American Pop
Riding On A Blue Note: Jazz And American Pop 3.89 avg rating — 36 ratings
79.
Swing Era New York: The Jazz Photographs of Charles Peterson
Swing Era New York: The Jazz Photographs of Charles Peterson 4.08 avg rating — 13 ratings
80.
Jazz Piano: A Jazz History
Jazz Piano: A Jazz History 3.25 avg rating — 4 ratings
80.
Just for a Thrill: Lil Hardin Armstrong, First Lady of Jazz
Just for a Thrill: Lil Hardin Armstrong, First Lady of Jazz 3.35 avg rating — 17 ratings
82.
Gypsy Jazz: In Search of Django Reinhardt and the Soul of Gypsy Swing
Gypsy Jazz: In Search of Django Reinhardt and the Soul of Gypsy Swing 3.84 avg rating — 58 ratings
83.
Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz/Record&Book
Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz/Record&Book 3.86 avg rating — 7 ratings
84.
The Amazing Bud Powell: Black Genius, Jazz History, and the Challenge of Bebop
The Amazing Bud Powell: Black Genius, Jazz History, and the Challenge of Bebop 3.87 avg rating — 30 ratings
85.
Bird's Diary
Bird's Diary
by: Ken Vail
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 3 ratings
85.
The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz
The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz 3.86 avg rating — 7 ratings
87.
Oscar Peterson: The Man and His Jazz
Oscar Peterson: The Man and His Jazz 3.81 avg rating — 21 ratings
88.
Shall We Play That One Together?: The Life and Art of Jazz Piano Legend Marian McPartland
Shall We Play That One Together?: The Life and Art of Jazz Piano Legend Marian McPartland 4.02 avg rating — 42 ratings
89.
The NPR Curious Listener's Guide to Jazz
The NPR Curious Listener's Guide to Jazz 3.44 avg rating — 52 ratings
90.
Bird: The Life and Music of Charlie Parker
Bird: The Life and Music of Charlie Parker 3.59 avg rating — 83 ratings
91.
Good Morning Blues: The Autobiography Of Count Basie
Good Morning Blues: The Autobiography Of Count Basie 3.75 avg rating — 91 ratings
92.
Coltrane on Coltrane: The John Coltrane Interviews
Coltrane on Coltrane: The John Coltrane Interviews 4.32 avg rating — 277 ratings
93.
Mister Jelly Roll: The Fortunes of Jelly Roll Morton, New Orleans Creole and "Inventor of Jazz"
Mister Jelly Roll: The Fortunes of Jelly Roll Morton, New Orleans Creole and "Inventor of Jazz" 4.13 avg rating — 141 ratings
94.
The Jazz Book: From Ragtime to Fusion and Beyond
The Jazz Book: From Ragtime to Fusion and Beyond 4.18 avg rating — 243 ratings
95.
The Passion For Jazz
The Passion For Jazz 3.57 avg rating — 7 ratings
96.
Riding Solo With the Golden Horde: A Novel
Riding Solo With the Golden Horde: A Novel 2.75 avg rating — 4 ratings
96.
The Original Tuxedo Jazz Band: More than a Century of a New Orleans Icon
The Original Tuxedo Jazz Band: More than a Century of a New Orleans Icon 3.89 avg rating — 9 ratings
96.
Django: The Life and Music of a Gypsy Legend
Django: The Life and Music of a Gypsy Legend 4.02 avg rating — 322 ratings
96.
Five Night Stand
Five Night Stand 4.12 avg rating — 295 ratings
96.
Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue: The Untold History of English
Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue: The Untold History of English 3.83 avg rating — 7,108 ratings
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