Reddit mentions of Visions of Jazz: The First Century

interesting. I recently put together an huge list of Jazz books oriented towards non-musicians. After putting together the list I organized it into courses like a university might. I called it my "Masters Degree in Jazz Studies for Non-Musicians." The first two courses I think would be perfect for you.

<br /> <br /> **Course 1: Jazz Appreciation**<br /> This course is meant to give you a solid grounding in how to listen to jazz music without delving too deeply in music theory or requiring the student to be a musician. It is also meant to expose you to the core body of work of jazz. <br /> <br /> [Enjoying Jazz - Henry Martin](http://www.amazon.com/Enjoying-Schirmer-Books-Henry-Martin/dp/0028731301/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8)<br /> <br /> [How To Listen To Jazz - Jerry Coker](http://www.amazon.com/How-Listen-Jazz-Jerry-Coker/dp/1562240005/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1420760894&amp;amp;sr=1-9)<br /> <br /> [Jazz Standards - Ted Gioia](http://www.amazon.com/The-Jazz-Standards-Guide-Repertoire/dp/0199937397/ref=pd_sim_b_1?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;refRID=0DX94W5SY4BM04GD6W5J)<br /> <br /> <br />

Course 2: Jazz History 101
This is a basic course in jazz history. it is not meant to be an in depth coverage of every style. It is meant to give the student a broad overview of the general progression of jazz from it's inception into the modern era. Other courses in the program go much further in depth into specific styles and the major players of those styles.

Ken Burns Jazz

Jazz 101 - John F Szwed

History of Jazz - Ted Gioia

Visions of Jazz - Gary Giddins

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so far the program I developed has 10 courses. If anyone is interested I could share the content of the other courses. and I am considering developing a syllabus for each course and possibly even more courses, but the time and effort needed to complete the 10 courses would already be more than the effort I put in to obtaining an actual master's degree from a university so I'm not sure how much more effort I would want to put into this right now.

Gary Giddins - Visions of Jazz: The First Century

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0195132416/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2

>Poised to become a classic of jazz literature, Visions of Jazz: The First Century offers seventy-nine chapters illuminating the lives of virtually all the major figures in jazz history. From Louis Armstrong's renegade-style trumpet playing to Sarah Vaughan's operatic crooning, and from the swinging elegance of Duke Ellington to the pioneering experiments of Ornette Coleman, jazz critic Gary Giddins continually astonishes the reader with his unparalleled insight. Writing with the grace and wit that have endeared his prose to Village Voice readers for decades, Giddins also widens the scope of jazz to include such crucial American musicians as Irving Berlin, Rosemary Clooney, and Frank Sinatra, all primarily pop performers who are often dismissed by fans and critics as mere derivatives of the true jazz idiom. And he devotes an entire quarter of this landmark volume to young, still-active jazz artists, boldly expanding the horizons of jazz--and charting and exploring the music's influences as no other book has done.

http://www.amazon.com/Visions-Jazz-Century-Gary-Giddins/dp/0195132416

http://www.amazon.com/Weather-Bird-Jazz-Second-Century/dp/0195304497

If she likes jazz, I can't recommend Gary Giddins' Visions of Jazz: The First Century enough. His passion for the music and personal relationships with some 20th century musicians make him a perceptive and infectious critic- that book swings on a sentence to sentence level. Giddins writes beautifully, although after ~50 or so pp, you'll never want to see ebullient in a text again, haha. It's his ignominious. (Love ya N.H., but shameful is just as good once and a while).