Review of 'The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
A great idea. The author discusses more than 250 jazz standards in pieces about 1200 words long with a list of about 8 or 9 recommended recordings at the end. His analysis is informal with historical information (e.g. when the first radio performance was, how it came to be written, who was in the band when it was performed) and he discusses the tune's financial success or lack of it, and what he thinks of various recorded performances. He occasionally does a more technical analysis of the song or discusses which musical features he thinks contribute to its popularity. Makes a nice gift, but I am reviewing it too late for Xmas, perhaps Chinese New Year.