"Highly recommended...Williams can fully appreciate the greatness in artists of widely varied styles and eras....Written with much the same care, thoughtfulness and encyclopedic knowledge of jazz that marked The Jazz Tradition."--Philadelphia Inquirer "Raises jazz criticism to the status of literature....It is so fine, so impeccable, so stylish, it...elevates all our standards of what good music journalism should be."--Jazziz "Read anything of Williams you can lay your hands on....His knowledge of jazz is all but unmatched."--Washington Review "Enlightening and written in a fluid, almost conversatinal tone, [it] contains some of jazz's most incisive commentary."--Philadelphia Tribune "A fascinating education for the jazz fan about the legacy and recordings of early jazz giants like Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller and Charlie Parker....A rich pastiche that will delight jazz fans."--Kirkus Reviews "A revised and improved edition....Behind the scenes ith some of the greats in jazz, it's a glimpse of a world shrouded by myth, Williams takes you behind the myth."--Beat Scene "The compiler and annotator of the superb Smithsonian collections of classic jazz and big band jazz offers a companion to The Jazz Tradition....Indispensable in any collection of books on jazz."--Booklist

About the Author: Martin Williams is the author of TV: The Casual Art and Where's the Melody? His articles have appeared in such publications as The Village Voice, Saturday Review, and The New York Times.