Jazz Audiobook By Geoffrey C. Ward, Ken Burns cover art

Jazz

A History of America's Music

 Preview
Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Jazz

By: Geoffrey C. Ward, Ken Burns
Narrated by: LeVar Burton
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $13.46

Buy for $13.46

Here are the stories of the extraordinary men and women who made the music: Louis Armstrong, the fatherless waif whose unrivaled genius helped turn jazz into a soloist's art and influenced every singer, every instrumentalist who came after him; Duke Ellington, the pampered son of middle-class parents who turned a whole orchestra into his personal instrument, wrote nearly two thousand pieces for it, and captured more of American life than any other composer. Bix Beiderbecke, the doomed cornet prodigy who showed white musicians that they too could make an important contribution to the music; Benny Goodman, the immigrants' son who learned the clarinet to help feed his family, but who grew up to teach a whole country how to dance; Charlie Parker, who helped lead a musical revolution, only to destroy himself at thirty-four; and Miles Davis, whose search for fresh sounds made him the most influential jazz musician of his generation, and then led him to abandon jazz altogether.

But Jazz is more than a mere biography. The history of the music echoes the history of twentieth-century America. Jazz provided the background for the giddy era that F. Scott Fitzgerald called the Jazz Age. The irresistible pulse of big-band swing lifted the spirits and boosted American morale during the Great Depression and World War II. The virtuosic, demanding style called bebop mirrored the stepped-up pace and dislocation that came with peace. During the Cold War era, jazz served as a propaganda weapon - and forged links with the burgeoning counterculture. The story of jazz encompasses the story of American courtship and show business; the epic growth of cities, and the struggle for civil rights and simple justice that continues into the new millennium.

©2000 by The Jazz Film Project, Inc. (P)2000 Random House, Inc. Random House AudioBooks, A Division of Random House, Inc. Americas Art History & Criticism Music United States Celebrity Entertainment

Featured Article: The Best Black Audiobook Narrators to Listen to Right Now


A skilled performer has the ability to take the written word to new heights, infusing an author’s work with empathy, warmth, and excitement. And representation matters just as much for audio as it does for any visual medium: listeners should feel and hear themselves in art driven by powerful performers and authentic deliveries. We’ve gathered a few of the best Black audiobook narrators in the business and their can't-miss performances.

Featured Article The Best Black Audiobook Narrators to Listen to Right Now
Fascinating Details • Historical Depth • Excellent Narration • Inspiring Content • Educational Value • Animated Voice

Highly rated for:

All stars
Most relevant  
Blown away by the full story of the music I’ve enjoyed listening to since the mid-90’s. If you love jazz, you will hear it more deeply after listening to this narrative. Levar Burton’s reading is spot on, with “just right” voicings for Louis Armstrong & Miles.

Appreciate your music collection more!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
great great book. Very comprehensive, particularly in the early years. It put together a history that I had not quite been aware of. Highly recommended.

loved it

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Initially I read this book while struggling to finish a music degree, now years later I loved going through it again as it inspires me to continue teaching music.

Loved it then and now.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I thought I was playing this for my musician husband to enjoy, but I was so taken with the story and the excellent narration that I stayed up to the wee hours, enthralled by the fascinating details of the lives and music of so many of the jazz greats.
One of my fave non-fiction books ever! Thanks for the wonderful and fascinating journey!

Fantastic book and loved, loved the narration

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
He has a stupendous voice. My children grew up with his Reading Rainbow and loved it. The subject is fascinating as well & better for me than some of the other jazz books I listened to.

Levar Burton

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
La historia de la música de America me pareció muy completa.
Me hubiera gustado que hubiese contenido mas muestras musicales relacionadas con los protagonistas.

Buena historia y pobre ilustración musical

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The book is very interesting, but I find it hard to follow: the reader drops his voice at the end of sentences or phrases, often does not pronounce names clearly, and does not pause at major transitions. I find myself needing to backspace the player to try to hear something I missed, often without success.

Good content but reading not clear

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Great book, wish it was longer with more music samples but I learned many new things and heard new music.

Love this title

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Full of information and short stories about the musicians that contributed to the genisis and evolution of jazz. I found myself struggling to pause my listening due to available time constraints. However,I always looked forward to pick up where I left off. The only improvement suggestion I could offer is some additional samples of some of the compositions that the narrator was describing throughout this book.

Captivating...

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Would you listen to Jazz again? Why?

There should be a listening rating to let the listeners know if cursing or racial language will be used in the audiobook. I was shocked to hear that word used. Very inappropriate.

Any additional comments?

There should be a listening rating to let the listeners know if cursing or racial language will be used in the audiobook. I was shocked to hear that word used. Very inappropriate.

Did not link the use of the N word used

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews