LibGuides: Jazz: Finding Books

Introduction

This page explains how to search for books on jazz using the library catalog. The box below includes call numbers for browsing and recommended subject headings so that you can do some searching on your own. If you don't know where to start and want to see a selection of what the Library has available, check out the box at the bottom of this page.

Search Tips

Conducting a keyword search in the library catalog is always a great place to start. Use the "Material Type" filter on the right of the "Advanced Search" screen to limit your results to "Book."

After finding a relevant book in the catalog, use the topics (listed in the subject field of the record) to find related materials. At this point, if you've identified several promising materials that have the same subjects listed, consider clicking on any of the subject headings to launch a new search for similarly classified items.

You can also try searching by subject heading to start.

Search broadly by using subjects like: Jazz--instruction and study, Jazz--history and criticism

Or try more specific subjects like: Bop (Music), Free jazz, Swing (Music)

Remember to always take a look at the topics listed in the catalog record to get hints for searching! For a more exhaustive list of call number ranges to browse and suggested subject headings, see the Tips for Exploring the Collection box on the "Getting Started" page.

Selected Books from the Catalog

Thinking in Jazz by Paul Berliner
Call Number: Online and ML3506 B475T4
Chronicling leading musicians from their first encounters with jazz to the development of a unique improvisatory voice, Paul Berliner documents the lifetime of preparation that lies behind the skilled improviser's every idea.
The Cambridge Companion to Jazz by Mervyn Cooke and David Horn (Editors)
Call Number: ML3506 C36C3
This volume of nineteen specially commissioned essays provides informed and accessible guidance, offering the reader a range of expert views on the character, history and uses of jazz.
Madame Jazz by Leslie Gourse
Call Number: ML82G68 M2
Ranging primarily from the late 1970s to today's vanguard of performance jazz in New York City and on the West Coast, Madame Jazz chronicles a crucial time of transition as women make the leap from novelty acts regarded as second class citizens to sought-out professionals admired and hired for their consummate musicianship.
The History of Jazz by Ted Gioia
Call Number: UIUC Online Collection
Gioia tells the story of jazz as it had never been told before, in a book that portrays the legendary jazz players, the breakthrough styles, and the world in which it evolved.
Jazz on My Mind: Liner notes, anecdotes and conversations from the 1940s to the 2000s by Herb Wong with Paul Simeon Fingerote
Call Number: ML3506 .W66J3 2016
This book features the best of Wong's liner notes, articles and album selections, his personal stories about the artists, and his illuminating one-on-one conversations with many jazz greats, providing an insightful jazz primer and invaluable discography.
The Jazz Cadence of American Culture by Robert O'Meally (Editor)
Call Number: ML3508 J39
A comprehensive collection of important essays, speeches, and interviews on the impact of jazz on other arts, on politics, and on the rhythm of everyday life. Focusing mainly on American artistic expression from 1920 to 1970, O'Meally confronts a long era of political and artistic turbulence and change in which American art forms influenced one another in unexpected ways.