Visions of Jazz The First Century Author:Gary Giddins Poised to become a jazz classic, Visions of Jazz: The First Century contains 79 chapters illuminating the lives of virtually all major figures in jazz history. From Louis Armstrong's renegade style trumpet playing to Frank Sinatra's intimate crooning, jazz critic Gary Giddins continually astonishes the reader with his unparalleled insight. Giddi... more »ns opens the doors of jazz to include musicians such as Irving Berlin and Rosemary Clooney, who have been traditionally dismissed by fans and critics as merely popular derivatives of true jazz. And he devotes an entire quarter of this volume to young, active jazz artists, boldly expanding the horizon of jazz and its influences like no other book has done.« less