Art blakey jazz messenger billie holiday lady of pain modern jazz quartet the first forty years nat king cole the comeback king stan getz seasons sonny rollins the muse is heard dinah washington the queen rahsaan roland kirk one man band pt 6 an alternative music art tatum sui generis charles mingus bigger than death cecil taylor outer curve ornette coleman this is our music john coltrane metamorphosis duke ellington part 3 at the pulpit muhal . Art blakey jazz messenger billie holiday lady of pain modern jazz quartet the first forty years nat king cole the comeback king stan getz seasons sonny rollins the muse is heard dinah washington the queen rahsaan roland kirk one man band pt 6 an alternative music art tatum sui generis charles mingus bigger than death cecil taylor outer curve ornette coleman this is our music john coltrane metamorphosis duke ellington part 3 at the pulpit muhal . Visions of jazz the first century is a mostly comprehensive look at jazz through the first 100 years of its existence as a music genre giddins breaks up the book into eight parts including precursors a new music a popular music a modern music a mainstream music an alternative music a struggling music and a traditional music giddins looks at some of the figures that continue to loom over jazz today armstrong ellington davis coltrane but also gives room and attention to some artist. Poised to become a classic of jazz literature visions of jazz the first century offers seventy nine chapters illuminating the lives of virtually all the major figures in jazz history from louis armstrongs renegade style trumpet playing to sarah vaughans operatic crooning and from the swinging elegance of duke ellington to the pioneering experiments of ornette coleman jazz critic gary giddins continually astonishes the reader with his unparalleled insight writing with the grace and