How to Listen to Jazz
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Narrated by:
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Peter Ganim
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By:
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Ted Gioia
About this listen
A "radiantly accomplished" music scholar presents an accessible introduction to the art of listening to jazz (Wall Street Journal).
In How to Listen to Jazz, award-winning music scholar Ted Gioia presents a lively introduction to one of America's premier art forms. He tells us what to listen for in a performance and includes a guide to today's leading jazz musicians. From Louis Armstrong's innovative sounds to the jazz-rock fusion of Miles Davis, Gioia covers the music's history and reveals the building blocks of improvisation. A true love letter to jazz by a foremost expert, How to Listen to Jazz is a must-listen for anyone who's ever wanted to understand and better appreciate America's greatest contribution to music.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.
©2017 Ted Gioia (P)2017 Hachette AudioCritic reviews
"Mr. Gioia could not have done a better job. Through him, jazz might even find new devotees." (Economist)
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Story
From the New York Times bestselling author of Satchel and Bobby Kennedy, a sweeping and spellbinding portrait of the longtime kings of jazz—Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie—who, born within a few years of one another, overcame racist exclusion and violence to become the most popular entertainers on the planet.
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Well Organized and Themed
- By unhae campbell on 05-23-24
By: Larry Tye
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Thelonious Monk
- The Life and Times of an American Original
- By: Robin DG Kelley
- Narrated by: Sean Crisden
- Length: 25 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Thelonious Monk is the critically acclaimed, gripping saga of an artist's struggle to "make it" without compromising his musical vision. It is a story that, like its subject, reflects the tidal ebbs and flows of American history in the 20th century. To his fans, he was the ultimate hipster; to his detractors, he was temperamental, eccentric, taciturn, or childlike. His angular melodies and dissonant harmonies shook the jazz world to its foundations, ushering in the birth of "bebop" and establishing Monk as one of America's greatest composers.
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The definitive bio of Monk
- By ricardo on 12-27-17
By: Robin DG Kelley
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Ear Training Course for Piano
- Intervals & Chords | Practice That and Become Great at Piano Playing | A Music Lesson You Don't Want to Miss (Ear Training ... Music Lesson You Don't Want to Miss, Book 3
- By: Julia Whitlock
- Narrated by: Florian Kockott
- Length: 11 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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This lesson is broken into several chapters. The first part focuses on interval identification exercises, starting with grouped intervals and ending with all intervals mixed up. The second part of the book focuses on extremely valuable exercises with the help of fifths. The third part is a simple yet powerful exercise that allows you to manifest the sound of each interval even more.
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Good Method, Good Piano Sound, Plenty of Exercises
- By Anonymous User on 12-24-21
By: Julia Whitlock
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Miles
- The Autobiography
- By: Miles Davis
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 16 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Universally acclaimed as a musical genius, Miles Davis was one of the most important and influential musicians in the world. Here, Miles speaks out about his extraordinary life. Miles: The Autobiography, like Miles himself, holds nothing back. For the first time Miles talks about his five-year silence. He speaks frankly and openly about his drug problem and how he overcame it. He condemns the racism he encountered in the music business and in American society generally. And he discusses the women in his life.
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A man untroubled by his own contradictions
- By Barry on 12-07-12
By: Miles Davis
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Playing Changes
- Jazz for the New Century
- By: Nate Chinen
- Narrated by: Ron Butler
- Length: 11 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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“Playing changes”, in jazz parlance, has long referred to an improviser’s resourceful path through a chord progression. Playing Changes boldly expands on the idea, highlighting a host of significant changes - ideological, technological, theoretical, and practical - that jazz musicians have learned to navigate since the turn of the century. Nate Chinen, who has chronicled this evolution firsthand throughout his journalistic career, vividly sets the backdrop, charting the origins of jazz historicism and the rise of an institutional framework for the music.
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Jazz happens
- By álvaro castro on 02-11-19
By: Nate Chinen
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Dangerous Rhythms
- Jazz and the Underworld
- By: T. J. English
- Narrated by: JD Jackson
- Length: 15 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Dangerous Rhythms tells the symbiotic story of jazz and the underworld: a relationship fostered in some of 20th century America’s most notorious vice districts. For the first half of the century mobsters and musicians enjoyed a mutually beneficial partnership. By offering artists like Louis Armstrong, Earl “Fatha” Hines, Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Lena Horne, and Ella Fitzgerald a stage, the mob, including major players Al Capone, Meyer Lansky, and Charlie “Lucky” Luciano, provided opportunities that would not otherwise have existed.
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Keep your YouTube handy
- By Vikon on 09-12-22
By: T. J. English
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Jazz
- A History of America's Music
- By: Geoffrey C. Ward, Ken Burns
- Narrated by: LeVar Burton
- Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins
- Abridged
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The story of jazz encompasses the story of American courtship and show business; the epic growth of cities, and the struggle for civil rights and simple justice that continues into the new millennium. If you haven't already, download the accompanying audio to Ken Burns' remarkable documentary!
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Good content but reading not clear
- By Ken on 02-07-03
By: Geoffrey C. Ward, and others
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Basic Music Theory, 4th Edition
- How to Read, Write, and Understand Written Music
- By: Jonathan Harnum
- Narrated by: Jonathan Harnum
- Length: 8 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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What do all those lines and squiggles and dots mean? Basic Music Theory takes you through the sometimes confusing world of written music with a clear, concise style that is at times funny and always friendly. The book is written by an experienced music teacher using methods refined over more than 30 years in schools and in his private teaching studio. Lessons are fun, well-paced, and enjoyable.
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A very good portable and study anywhere book
- By Amazon Customer on 06-03-17
By: Jonathan Harnum
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Jazz
- By: Toni Morrison
- Narrated by: Toni Morrison
- Length: 3 hrs
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In the winter of 1926, when everybody everywhere sees nothing but good things ahead, Joe Trace, middle-aged door-to-door salesman of Cleopatra beauty products, shoots his teenage lover to death. At the funeral, Joe’s wife, Violet, attacks the girl’s corpse. This novel “transforms a familiar refrain of jilted love into a bold, sustaining time of self-knowledge and discovery. Its rhythms are infectious” (People).
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The audio is not the same as the book
- By Rocio on 03-29-16
By: Toni Morrison
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The Birth of Loud
- Leo Fender, Les Paul, and the Guitar-Pioneering Rivalry That Shaped Rock 'n' Roll
- By: Ian S. Port
- Narrated by: Pete Simonelli
- Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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A riveting saga in the history of rock ‘n’ roll: the decades-long rivalry between the two men who innovated the electric guitar’s amplified sound - Leo Fender and Les Paul - and their intense competition to convince rock stars like the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and Eric Clapton to play the instruments they built.
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Thoughtful Music History
- By E. Protzman on 01-23-19
By: Ian S. Port
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Beethoven
- Anguish and Triumph
- By: Jan Swafford
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 39 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Jan Swafford's biographies have established him as a revered music historian, capable of bringing his subjects vibrantly to life. His magnificent new biography of Ludwig van Beethoven peels away layers of legend to get to the living, breathing human being who composed some of the world's most iconic music.
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Huge book - musical reader appreciates best
- By DMgraphicGlass on 01-20-15
By: Jan Swafford
What listeners say about How to Listen to Jazz
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Josh
- 07-05-22
A great book
A great review of the genre, including a discussion of form and major innovators and deviants. Useful even to an intermediate musician just getting into playing jazz. It's easy to get lost, but this book serves as a simple and effective anchor.
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1 person found this helpful
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- J. Winokur
- 02-24-19
Not really a "how to"
This is more of a history than a guide to listening. Goia's histories are good.
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8 people found this helpful
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- nadav izhaky
- 09-13-21
Excellent work
An important book that actually teaches listening strategies. passionately read. a must read for anyone who is interested in getting into jazz.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Donna
- 10-10-19
Loved everything about the material in this book!
The history, advice, and interpretations were all expertly helpful. I did wish there was access to the Pdf of present and future jazz greats.
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3 people found this helpful
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- SLIN
- 09-04-24
Informative but Not Effective
This book provides valuable insights into jazz and is quite informative. The author correctly emphasizes the importance of listening in learning to appreciate music, including jazz. However, the book is largely descriptive and conceptual, lacking any music samples that could help listeners better understand what the author is trying to convey. After all, music is about experience—the experience of listening. Learning to enjoy music can't be achieved solely through understanding concepts or reading descriptions of musicians' practices.
In this regard, I gained far more understanding of the concepts by watching a 23-minute YouTube video ("Jazz Rhythm - Beginners Guide: Swing 8ths, Syncopation, and Rhythmic Phrasing" by Kent Hewitt—whom I have no affiliation with other than being a viewer) than by listening to this book for several hours. This limitation is clearly due to the format of this audiobook, which is a reading of a paper book. Unfortunately, it fails to leverage the potential of the audiobook format by incorporating actual music samples into the content.
If someone wants to learn to enjoy jazz without formal music training, I would recommend watching a few good YouTube videos first.
My hope in providing this review is to encourage the author to enhance this audiobook by addressing the lack of live music samples.
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1 person found this helpful
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- ms
- 08-25-22
Solid Introduction
This book is a solid introduction to listening to Jazz. I know a little music theory and can play a couple of instruments badly. I wish there was something that had just a little more of a technical aspect to it, which I believe Mr. Gioia could easily provide. His book about Jazz Standards is also good as a reference when listening or playing.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Christie Ann Seeley
- 11-05-20
Love Jazz, now I understand why!
I have been listening to jazz for many years now. I even write about local jazz musicians to promote their performances. I loved the way Ted Gioia treated his presentation. His vocabulary is rich and evocative. His enthusiasm infectious. His rich knowledge enviable. Listen. You will be happy you did.
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1 person found this helpful
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- john
- 05-29-22
Excellent!
Great reading from a very informed author and critic with an excellent attitude and approach towards important about music. Thank you very much.!
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- Dionté BOOM
- 11-13-23
'
It is a good book. Great. I recommend it. The narrator was great. Yeah mon!
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- James P. Monast
- 05-31-18
Perfect for a jazz newbie
I know next to nothing about jazz, so picked up this book after a recommendation from someone else. I found it to be an excellent overview of jazz with great narration by a jazz cat. I would highly recommend this book to provide some basics concerning the different varieties and history of jazz music.
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4 people found this helpful