Cookin': Hard Bop and Soul Jazz 1954-65

Quite a lengthy text and covers the era quite well. I learned a lot that I didn't know or perhaps forgot, and discovered some material I should own so be prepared to buy some albums. Best to read it alongside your computer so you can Google up the many albums mentioned and hear some samples of any that you are not familiar with. A lot of info about who played with who at various times, who made up the bands over the years, who the sidemen were, and sadly the ones that did not survive the drugs, illnesses and transportation mishaps, so many not even surviving to 30 or 40 years of age. A good read and a good resource to have on the shelf for future reference.

This is the second installment in Mathieson's assessment of modern jazz. It chronicles some of the key artists that picked up the torch from Bird, Diz, Monk, and Bud to create a music that still stands as the dominant canvas for musicians today. In this Mathieson does an admirable job of satisfying the long-time listener and neophyte alike. I especially enjoyed reading about some of the often overlooked yet equally essential artists like Booker Ervin, Elmo Hope and Gigi Gryce and personal favorites like Sonny Clark, Hank Mobley and Kenny Dorham. The biographical information is good but the real reward was the discographical offerings. Matheson makes it easy to find those albums that both serve as examples of their individual talents and as milestones in American music. Cookin' is a recommended read for anyone looking for a way into this time in music. It is also a book for those of us who love revisiting the music and lives of these legends.

What an absolute shame that this series ceased to exist. Both books are phenomenal studies in the two most important movements in modern jazz.

A great read. I thoroughly enjoyed reading and learning so much about all these great people and wonderful musicians whom I have listened to for years and still treasure a whole stack of vinyl featuring every one of them

This is one of my favorite books now.

Love this CD and LOVE Amazon Prime

This overview of the hard bop universe is compellingly written. Superb thumbnail bios of the great hard-boppers (lotsa Blue Note guys here)---with on-the-money descriptions of their recorded output. If you were on the fence about this one---don't be: it's f*a*n*t*a*s*t*i*c. A significant improvement over the rather over-worked ground of Mathieson's "Giant Steps"---"Cookin'" has got to be one of the ten best jazz books available (full of heart, soul---and smarts---just like the music it describes!!!). Keep two eyes out for his next volume---on the more "out" post-bop/modal explorers---keep up the great work Kenny, m'laddie!!!

The title is inaccurate - this book covers a number of artists - MJQ for example - who did not make any contribution to Hard Bop. This is all done to shoehorn the artists into a three part history of jazz (of which this is the second part) but the third has never been written. Each artist/band gets an outline of their life and musical companions then a seriously boring description of several of the albums they made. There is no real expression of opinion given on these nor guidance on where to start in the long list of albums for each musician. Much better read Rosenthal's book Hard Bop which is a well written and opinionated work by an enthusiast.

Well worth a read alongside 'Giant Steps'. So much information - so few brain cells left to remember it all.

All good.

Al well!

ゴスペルやリズム＆ブルース、ラテンといった音楽から影響を受けて成立したハード・バップやソウル･ジャズと呼ばれるジャンルのおもなミュージシャンについてその経歴や演奏スタイルの特徴、代表的な作品などを概観した本です。ミュージシャンの意外なエピソードも紹介されておりたとえばドラムス奏者Art Blakey アート・ブレイキーが若い頃に警官から受けた暴行が原因で頭に金属板が入っていることやピアノ奏者Horace Silver ホレス･シルヴァーが子供の頃に脊椎の湾曲が原因で手足の自由がきかず医者からは不治の病と宣告されていたことなどを自分は本書ではじめて知りました。ただし何箇所か事実関係の誤認があったことと自分としては賛成できかねる独善的な意見があったことが気になりました。英文ですがごく平易な文章で書かれているので辞書を引きながらでも比較的、読みやすいものだと思います。