Concise Guide to Jazz

An introduction to jazz and how to listen to it

Written by active jazz musician and jazz historian Mark Gridley, the Concise Guide to Jazz was created in response to students and professors asking for a clear and accurate introductory jazz text. This brief text examines how jazz originated, how it is made, what to listen for, and the major style eras. By focusing on just over fifty historical figures, Concise Guide to Jazz, seventh edition allows students to understand a broad range of jazz styles without feeling overloaded. Concise Guide to Jazz focuses on the diversity of jazz styles and serves as a basis for further jazz exploration.

This text is available in a variety of formats – digital and print. Pearson offers its titles on the devices students love through CourseSmart, Amazon, and more. To learn more about our programs, pricing options and customization, click the Choices tab.

Learning Goals

Upon completing this book, readers will be able to:

• Begin to appreciate how jazz is made
• Know how to extract the most depth of experience from listening to jazz
• Know who the most historically significant jazz musicians are
• Know why each significant musician is important
• Distinguish the main style eras

*Music for your course is available through Spotify.