Invaluable
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While the Rough Guide and AMG are better in their potted biographies of various Jazz Musicians - they too do not cover everyone - they also do not give any real detail of the released material compared to this tome, and a mighty tome it is. If you really want some idea of the actual music that was created, by whom and when, then this IS the Compendium for you, if you want a history of Jazz Musicians then look elsewhere, as while there is a para or two on each group/artist, this book concentrates solely on the music and the released material. Yes the opinions are probably biased (Coltrane's Ascension is dreadful in my opinion) but the sheer enthusiasm of the writing by persons who really do love their subject cannot help but enthuse. They are also consistent, so that after a few purchases based on the detail here, you will know what to expect pretty much in terms of their preferences verus your own. I guarantee that this book will be more than just a (shopping) list. I can sit for hours pouring over the informatyion. As a newcomer to Jazz music, I found this reference to be absolutely invaluable. There is a lot of 'Jazz' out there, this will help you define your tastes, I guarantee.
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Jazz from A to Z
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When it comes to Jazz, the Penguin Guide can't be beat. It offers the most complete, up-to-date catalog available on the market, covering an exceedingly broad range of jazz artists from around the world. Unlike other discographies, which tend to be American centered, Richard Cook and Brian Morton cover many European, Asian, Latin and African musicians, which will greatly expand your musical range. The guide tends to cover CD's that are in print, so out-of-print CD's and albums are not covered, except in the lengthy biographies the authors have prepared. They also have a very good rating system, which will help you to decide what to pick to add to your collection. I have found these guides to be invaluable aids over the years, keeping my past catalogs, as out-of-print CD's tend to be dropped from the discographies to make room for new releases.
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Best you can do in print but...
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there are too many artists, contemporary and historic, that have been dropped for this edition. This work is really reaching the stage where it must be put online: on subscription if necessary.
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A hugely detailed work, but AMG & Rough guides are better
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Alas there is no best reference book of jazz, too big a subject matter and too subjective. Of the 3 big guides Rough Guide is a grear place to start for first purchases, the AMG guide is great to research a little deeper or wider. This one, for me, is less useful - the content is biased to the authors tastes and that doesnt tally with mine
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A great over-all guide to jazz
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This is an excellent guide. However, don't be so quick to chuck the old editions away as many of the CD's go out of print, and later editions drop them from their index. With so many re-issues each year, I imagine it is an especially difficult task to keep abreast of the discographies of jazz artists. The biographies are good. I especially like the fact that they have included so many European, Asian, African and South American artists. Jazz is truly global and most guides tend to focus to heavily on American jazz, treating jazz in other countries as step children. Not so with the Penguin Guide, it gives deservedly high marks to Tomasz Stanko of Poland, The Ganellin, Cekasin, Tarasov trio of Russia and Lithuania, etc. It may not be everyone's bag, but this guide certainly gives you the opportunity to explore new jazz sounds by providing illuminating descriptions of music the world over. And, of course, there is everything you want to know about the quintessential jazz greats in the way of their recordings on CD. This guide will help you to form a CD library that will be the envy of your jazz friends. The star-rating system is a fairly good gauge of what to buy and not to buy. Plus, this guide give you juicy insights so that you can impress your friends with arcane bits of information.
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