Subject Guide: Jazz

These are some of the Library’s many books on jazz:

• New Grove Dictionary of Jazz.  Barry Kernfeld, ed.  London:  Macmillan Reference, 2001.
  [Music Reference ML102.J3 N48 2001]
• Berliner, Paul.  Thinking in Jazz:  the Infinite Art of Improvisation..  Chicago:  University of Chicago Press, 1994.
  [ML3506 .B475 1994]
• Feather, Leonard G.  The Pleasures of Jazz:  Leading Performers on Their Lives, Their Music, Their Contemporaries.  New York:  Horizon Press, 1976.
  [ML3561.J3 F28p]
• Music Hound jazz:  the essential album guide.  Detroit: Visible Ink Press, 1998.
  [Music Reference ML156.4 J3 M87 1998]
• Troupe, Quincy.  Miles and Me.  Berkeley:  University of California Press, 2000.
  [ML419.D39 T76 2000] or [available as an electronic book ; click title to view]
• Walser, Robert, ed. Keeping Time: Readings in Jazz History. New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1999.
  [ML3507 K4 1999]

These titles may be of special interest to vocalists.  Some are available in print form, some in electronic form.  Browse by title in PacifiCat for print holdings, and the Pacific eLibrary for electronic holdings.  To locate other music titles, browse Pacificat for the subject "Music Periodicals".

• Down Beat
• Jazz education journal
• Jazziz
• Popular music

• African-American Sheet Music, 1850 -1920 - Award-winning site in the Library of Congress/Ameritech Digital Library Competition. This collection (searchable by subject, composer, publisher, illustrator, and title) provides access to digital images of 1,305 pieces of sheet music at Brown University dating from 1850 through 1920.
• America's Jazz Heritage - America's Jazz Heritage is a ten-year initiative to research, preserve, and present the history of jazz through exhibitions, performances, recordings, radio, publications, and educational programs at the Smithsonian Institution and across the nation. Includes audio clips, interviews, exhibit and performance schedules, and extensive bibliographies and links to related sites.
• DownBeat.com - News and information about artists, festivals, albums, and more.
• Gerry Mulligan Collection - Part of the Library of Congress's I Hear America Singing, this site includes selected manuscript scores and parts, recorded excerpts, and discographies.
• Jamey Aebersold Jazz, Inc. - Includes music, CD's, and DVD's for sale and an online forum for discussion of jazz issues; a calendar of workshops, performances, and clinics; and links to other useful sites.
• Red, Hot and Cool - This is an extensive web page filled with over 200 links to news, features on individual artists, and information about jazz history.

In PacifiCat, there are two ways to find items on a particular subject:  by Searching, or by Browsing. 
Searching (by keyword) is useful for finding items about a specific topic when you don't have a specific author or title.

1. To SEARCH by Subject, go to PacifiCat , and select Advanced Search.
2. Select the Format and/or Material Type you are looking for.
3. Under Field to Search: choose Subject.
4. Under Words adjacent? click Yes
5. Enter search term(s) from the following list in the first blank box:
   • Blues music
   • Jazz musicians
   • Jazz vocals

Browsing by subject is useful when browsing for music for specific instruments, ensembles, or genres (e.g. sonatas, symphonies, operas, etc.) when the composer or title is not known.

To BROWSE by Subject, go to PacifiCat, and select “Browse” from the left-hand menu.
Under Index to Browse: choose Subject.

• Big bands
• Jazz
• Jazz 1961
  • Adding a year ending in ‘1’ (1931, 1941, etc.) will bring back items from (or about) a particular decade.  This is useful for finding albums recorded in a particular decade.
• Jazz history and criticism