Even more than 30 years after first discovering jazz I am amazed at how little I know or understand about the form and how much more there is to learn. It is a music of extreme intricacy and substance and the series of events that unraveled in order for jazz to become even the music it was when Brubeck released his immortal Time Out , are as remarkable as they are myriad. A History of America's Music is a remarkable, extensive and intimate exploration into not only what jazz is, but also what it represents. The history of jazz is more than just a record and progression of a musical style, it's also the history of people and of community. To trace its roots you must follow the lineage and interweaving and influence of numerous cultures and individuals.
Jazz history is racism and liberty, passion and sorrow, freedom of expression and unjust repression.
And because of and in spite of these things, jazz has become the formidable musical form it is today and will continue to be. It takes us in-depth through the eyes of those who shaped it in its early days through to those who continue to stretch the boundaries of the genre today. And Jazz does fill pages, brilliantly and fluently. To Ward and Burns, and all the people involved in its history and continuation, jazz is their faith, their church, their commitment. But, to some, jazz has been far less than the sum of its parts and it has had its detractors.