Reviews for The heart of jazz

The average rating for The heart of jazz based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2020-01-10 00:00:00 Sandra Alvarez Lovely format and quite philosophically stimulating. The freedom principle documents the rise and revolution of free jazz from 1958 onwards, given its birth in Ornette Coleman's "Free Jazz" LP of the same year. The book touches on issues of especial pertinence in the context of the time that the genre was developing. It delivers a sound musicological analysis (sometimes too saturated in this aspect) that is underpinned by a judicious aesthetic critique matched with its historical context. For me personally, it smashed my preconception of the genre as something nakedly esoteric, reserved only for the jazz intelligentsia. Instead, it framed it as a revolutionary genre rightfully owned and nurtured by African Americans and elevated to a level of profundity worthy of being titled art music. There are many artists to thank for this but John Coltrane is one of the genre's most heroic stalwarts, with the book rightfully acknowledging the merit in the composer's work post 'A Love Supreme'. Ascension and Meditations definitely worth a listen!

Review # 2 was written on 2010-05-11 00:00:00 Ilias Polimeros Exhilarating on free jazz, with a brief, withering interlude on jazz fusion. Be warned, though, Litweiler applies free jazz principles to syntax, grammar and punctuation throughout.