Legends of Jazz

This elegant volume is a portrait gallery of 50 eminent legends spanning jazz history, from Jelly Roll Morton, perhaps the inventor of the art form, to contemporary axman Joe Lovano, who contributes a foreword.

Arguably America’s most profound cultural contribution, jazz has evolved for over a hundred years since its birth in the ethnic gumbo of New Orleans at the dawn of the 20th century. Like a mighty river, it has wended its way over time through geography, style, and mood, forming nume...