A huge testament to the power of New York City in American music – especially during those 20th Century years when the city was able to foster scene after scene, style after style – serving as a launchpad for sounds that would forever transform the world! The book looks at Latin, bebop, folk, doo wop, punk, disco, and other styles from the pre-hip hop years – and traces the way that local styles became national ones, via the recording opportunities and entertainment showcases that were unique to NYC! The author has a keen knowledge of cultures in all five boroughs, and the music as well – and this softcover edition is almost 500 pages, with some sections of black and white images. Book

A massive folkloric project – one that really shows how much the form has evolved since the early days of recording! This huge book-length collection looks at the rich legacy of Appalachian music as it moved north towards the Mason-Dixon line – from roots in Virginia and Tennessee, to northern spots in Maryland and Pennsylvania as those older communities languished. The first half of the collection focuses on important 60s recordings of Ola Belle Reed and the New River Boys – done by folklorist Henry Glassie, and very well recorded – and the second half looks at the long legacy of music that's continued in that area, sometimes after the sounds have faded from the source of their original roots. CD one features all recordings of Ola and her contemporaries – while CD two features recent material with a surprisingly vibrant feel – and artists include TJ Lundy, Ryan Paisley, Hugh Campbell, Zane Campell, Dave Reed, and John Miller – as well as the Debusk-Weaver Family. The book itself is worth the price of admission – hardcover, full of photos and writings – and over 250 pages long! (Folk/Country, Books) CD

An incredible package – one that brings together four rare publications by Sun Ra – printed words that are every bit as groundbreaking as his music – and which together represent the farther-flung corners of his vast cultural enterprise! The set represents each of the texts in the manner in which it was originally presented – save for the yellowing paper of the originals – so that two are small pamphlets, one is a slightly larger booklet, and the last is a huge stapled publication – each with a size, feel, and presentation that's like their originals! First up are the pamphlets that came with two early Ra records – Jazz By Sun Ra and Jazz In Silhouette – the first a booklet of liner notes with some poems, the second much more poetic, and originally done as a mimeograph that quickly deteriorated. Next is the famous Immeasurable Equation – a book of poetry from the mid 60s, which also features some writings by Ra on both his career and politics. Last is the huge Immeasurable Equation Vol 2 – a much larger book of poetry from 1972, presented on full sheets of paper stapled together with a textured cover of artwork. All four are impossibly hard to find – and in the format here, it's as if you had the originals in your hands, but in mint condition! Book

This special issue of Jazz Critique looks at two key tenor players of the postwar years – Blue Note legend Hank Mobley, and the great Dexter Gordon, who moved from early fame on the LA scene to a key career stretch overseas! The issue offers up discographies of both players – with dozens of important sessions, both as leaders and sidemen – complete with images of the covers and details of the records in English – and lots more text in Japanese, which you can likely read using Google translate. There's lots more images throughout the issue – a color section at the start, and lots more enticing ones throughout the well-stuffed 208 pages within! Book

That's the great bassist Charles Mingus on the cover – and this issue of Jazz Critique acts as a mini-discography of some of his greatest recording sessions – with listings of dozens of key albums, including sideman sessions, rare live material, and other gems that work together to showcase some of the most acclaimed moments of Mingus on records! As with other issues, the text is mostly in Japanese – but the discography has images of record covers and other details in English – and the issue then moves into a range of other jazz-based features too, in a 200 page, book-styled issue with black and white images throughout. Book

This issue's got a special feature on unusual and noteworthy jazz record covers – served up by a host of different critics, who each pick three different records that are represented by small black and white images, along with label, artist, and title in English – and a longer essay in Japanese! As with other issues, there's a mix of visual information that will help you out if you're not a reader of Japanese – and these days, you can often use a translation program through your phone's camera to read bits that catch your eye. There's a small beautiful section of color images at the start – including covers for the Days of Delight label series – and the magazine also features listings for new albums too, all from a Japanese perspective. 184 pages, and bound like a paperback book. Book

A really cool issue of this always-great magazine – one that offers up a special look at European jazz singers from the postwar years onwards – with key recordings for dozens of artists, laid out in Japanese discography style! That means that the core text is Japanese, but you'll find album covers and other details in English to really point you in the right direction – to help you discover rare work by singers who include familiar names like Georgie Fame, Sathima Bea Benjamin, Norma Winstone, and others – mixed with dozens of others who are equally great, but much more obscure! There's other features in the mix too – and the book-style issue is 216 pages, with black and white images, and some in color. Book

An issue that definitely delivers on its promise of great hard bop records – as it offers up a visual discography of classic albums in the format – plenty of Blue Note gems, plus some overlooked records too – all with images of the covers in black and white, details in English, and reviews in Japanese! The issue has a short but beautiful color section at the start – then runs through its long hardbop feature, along with additional articles on key players in Japanese – plus other jazz columns and reviews, again in Japanese – but illustrated with black and white images throughout. 240 pages, squarebound, with black and white and color images. Book

There's a big discography of postwar jazz from the west coast scene inside – including classic records like the Gerry Mulligan 10" LP pictured on the cover, and lots more unusual and obscure albums too! The issue serves things up in Japanese "disc guide" format – with a small image of the record covers, then other details in English, and more in Japanese – with listings of key records, prefaced by a cool color section too. The rest of the issue follows with more jazz features too – all with black and white images and photos next to text in Japanese – with a total of 216 pages, in a book-styled cover. Book

The cover image features a classic quartet date from trumpeter Blue Mitchell – and the issue looks at important records in a similar format – all of which feature either a saxophonist, trumpeter, or trombonist with a rhythm trio for backing! The issue follows the Jazz Critique mode and has a discography of nearly 100 albums – with album cover art and other text in English, and longer reviews on Japanese – all as part of this issue that has other Japanese articles on jazz topics both past and present, all graced with very nice black and white photos! 200 pages, book-style format, and a great layout and design. Book

This issue looks at jazz singers from the postwar years onwards – starting with the generation of Jennie Smith, who's pictured on the cover – and running up through key hip vocalists well into the 21st Century! The issue follows previous ones in that it has a discography of the artists within – with a few key albums of dozens of singers, presented with a black and white image of the album cover, and other details in English – a huge rundown of vocalists, with a lot of albums to discover! And as always, there's other features too – a cool color section at the start, jazz reviews and other news, in a total of 216 pages with black and white images throughout. Book

A very unusual issue of this long-running jazz magazine – one that offers up a special selection of 100 key albums that boast a two-horn quintet – that is, a five piece group with a trumpet and a sax player in the lineup! As with other issues, this one begins with a full color section that features full color thumbnails of all the albums featured, then moves into a black and white section that offers up more details – including players, labels, dates, titles, and other information in English – plus a short review in Japanese, which you can read using Google translate on your phone. The artists range nicely – albums run from 50s classics on Blue Note through 70s Japanese masterpieces, to some more contemporary albums – and there's also other features and reviews too – in a book-style package, 200 pages, with black and white images throughout. Book

A career-spanning retrospective of the photographic side of Chris Marker – an artist who's probably better-known for his work in film, such as the seminal La Jetee – a movie that is really just a set of photographs too! The title gives away part of the approach here – as a good number of the images in the book have the photographic subject staring back at the camera – yet these are also mixed with other images from around the globe, over the space of decades – presented here in beautiful black and white images that are as striking as the one on the cover. The book also features a bit of writing by Marker on his work, and some essays from others as well – in a hardcover edition, 157 pages, with black and white images throughout. Book

The mighty Sun Ra is on the cover, and also famously named a record Magic City – which was also the nickname of his hometown of Birmingham, Alabama – a city that gets plenty of coverage here for its long musical legacy! Birmingham was given the "magic city" nickname late in the 19th Century, when it was experiencing a great economic boom – one that helped attract folks from all over the south, and made the city a cultural crossroads for many years to come – especially when it came to jazz, where Birmingham was one of the most important scenes in the south for part of the 20th Century. In addition to the relationship between the city and Sun Ra, the book also features a long lineup that includes Joe Guy, Teddy Hill, Erskine Hawkins, Fess Whatley, Avery Parrish, and others – in histories that criss-cross, overlap, and extend with influences far past the city. This softcover edition is 340 pages, with some very nice black and white images. Book

Writer Paul Steinbeck has already given us a great book on the Art Ensemble Of Chicago – but this time around, he looks at the larger scene from which they came, the groundbreaking AACM moment in jazz, which emerged in Chicago in the late 60s! Steinbeck provides some cultural and historical context, but also focuses in on key recordings that helped to define the special genius of AACM musicians and their united vision – with an approach that's build around different records on a chapter by chapter basis – even leading up to a few more recent recordings that show the continuing influence and growth of the organization. Along the way, Steinbeck provides some musical notations and deeper analysis of the sounds from his perspective as a musicologist – very illuminating to us, as we tend to have much more of a visceral response to these records – a lineup that includes Air Time by Air, Levels & Degrees Of Light by Muhal Richard Abrams, Sound by Roscoe Mitchell, Voyager by George Lewis, Nonaah by Roscoe Mitchell, Composition 76 by Anthony Braxton, Ten Freedom Summers by Wadada Leo Smith, and Mandorla Awakening II by Nicole Mitchell. The hardcover book features many charts and scores throughout – and is a total of 272 pages in length. Book

Part one of a massive two volume set that looks at the growth and change in African American sacred music from the Civil War onwards – shifts that occurred for years before the music became to be known as gospel, but with an ear towards all those elements that would really come to the forefront in the postwar years! Writer Robert Darden has roots both in the field of gospel journalism, and academia – and he blends both together in ways that follow a well-researched body of evidence, but also presents things in a very down to earth way at points. The book his hugely annotated, with some black and white images throughout – and is a fascinating look at this often-undocumented years of music. Hardcover edition is 210 pages. Book