The NPR Curious Listener's Guide to Jazz
These final entries in NPR's "Curious Listener's" series  maintain the fresh spirit and informative stance of the first  two, which address opera and popular standards. Smith, music  critic for the Baltimore Sun, and Schoenberg, a tenor  saxophonist and jazz educator, provide basic introductions  geared to lay readers, focusing on the essentials of their  respective musical genres, including a history of the form, a  description of genres, brief biographies of featured composers  and performers, glossaries, and recommended pieces and  recordings (50 CDs for each). The charm of this series is the  manner in which the authors cover the important points in their  own casual yet expert tone, pointing up details along the way  with intriguing sidebars (concert etiquette for classical and  various historical figures for jazz) or turns of phrase while  presenting thought-provoking artist or repertoire selections  that will encourage spirited debate. The jazz volume suffers  from a few minor editorial glitches (e.g., incorrect  alphabetizing and typos), but both books are well crafted and  logically organized. Smith's book is reminiscent of Michael  Walsh's Who's Afraid of Classical Music? with updated  scholarship and some different perspectives, while Schoenberg's  complements Gene Seymour's Jazz: The Great American Art. Highly  recommended for their combination of reliable information and  accessible style, these are real bargains for public libraries.  (Indexes not seen.) Barry Zaslow, Miami Univ. Libs., Oxford, OHCopyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.