Giddins’ ambitious book covers the first century of jazz with a panoply of artists. There are the “usual suspects” whom everyone knows, plus practitioners of “alternative music”--Cecil Taylor, Ornette Coleman, Henry Threadgill--and “struggling music”--Don Pullen, Abbey Lincoln, Jimmy Rowles. And he covers many who are often overlooked by historians--Geri Allen, Jacky Terrasson, Cassandra Wilson, Randy Weston. This feast for the mind can be accompanied by a feast for the ears, the Visions of Jazz CD, a compilation selected by Giddins. There is an Index of Names and an Index of Songs and Selected Recordings.

Gary Giddins has covered jazz for the Village Voice for over 25 years. He is the author of Riding on a Blue Note: Jazz and American Pop, Rhythm-a-ning: Jazz Tradition and Innovation, Celebrating Bird: The Triumph of Charlie Parker, Satchmo: The Genius of Louis Armstrong, and Faces in the Crowd: Players and Writers.