Outside of a Dog, #64

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." - Groucho Marx.

As promised, now that you're bopping to the groove of great jazz music, tune your brain to one of these books to find out more...

Jazz by Walter Dean Myers

A series of love poems to the music, this kids' book is great for adults, too, bringing to mind the swinging Harlem-Renaissance poetry of Langston Hughes.

JUV 781.65 M WAM

Visions of Jazz: The First Century by Gary Giddins

This is a big book, to be sure, but well worth picking up, especially if you're curious as to how Louis Armstrong and Charlie Parker got their nicknames. Seventy-nine chapters are in this labor of love by the Village Voice music critic Giddins, and each one takes you in-depth about a famed jazz musician, and includes some insight into pop musicians who sometimes sing jazz, like Rosemary Clooney and Frank Sinatra.

781.65 G WDB

The Billboard illustrated encyclopedia of jazz & blues by Ted Drozdowski

Billboard is one of the best-known music magazines worldwide, making and publishing lists of hot music in almost any genre you can imagine, so it's no wonder that an encyclopedia by them is a fantastic resource for history and photos. This is a reference book only, though, so you'll have to look at it in the library; you can't take it home with you.

REF 781.65 B WCV

John Coltrane: A sound supreme by John W. Selfridge

It's never too early to get your kids listening to great music, and learning about the most famous artists. "A sound supreme" is a short biography for kids of all ages that details the life of saxophonist John Coltrane, now known for the complex harmonies in songs like "Giant Steps."

JBiog Coltrane WMB