Jazz- A.B.Z

The Jazz A·B·Z. By Wynton Marsalis. Illustrated by Paul Rogers. ISBN 0-7636-2135-8

This is a beautiful and informative book that provides an introduction to 26 jazz giants. The cover of the book is designed to look like an album cover, and the title page looks like a 78 record. For each letter of the alphabet there is an alliterated poem about a different jazz artist and a poster-like illustration that is striking enough to frame. In the back of the book there is a biography of each artist and extensive notes on the various poetic forms, along with an explanation of why a particular form was chosen to write about a particular musician. For example, the notes explain that a haiku was selected for Thelonius Monk because “What a good haiku must do is create a sharp, pure, and resonant image, like the deep-song sound of Thelonius Monk’s piano and the short distinctive themes that characterize his compositions.” Using poems to convey the feel of each artist’s style is an interesting concept, but at times the constriction of alphabetic alliteration weakens the poetry.