You might not think there were so many books devoted to jazz, but this bibliography lists 700 adult nonfiction books published on the topic in just a single decade. It was prompted by a visit the author paid to the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University, where she discovered that 'no comprehensive, reasonably current jazz bibliography existed.' Why the focus on the 1990s? Because it seemed like a good place to start. The bibliography is organized by type of publication (biographies, discographies, etc.), and entries are annotated. Subject, author, and title indexes facilitate access.

Booklist

This annotated bibliography of recent jazz monographs documents an important period in jazz historiography; during the 1990s an explosion of publications, particularly by academics, documented performers, venues, recordings, genres, instruments, and so forth....This book by Greenberg (Jersey City Free Public Library) does what it sets out to do, and quite thoroughly. The 700 annotations are descriptive (and often cursory) rather than critical. Classifying the entries by type (e.g., biographies, discographies) and then by subtype makes for a convenient look at related items, and the three indexes collocate books on or by individuals. With the availability of online databases such as WorldCat (CH, Nov'07, 45-1183), one questions the need for a bibliography that documents such relatively recent literature, especially when so much documentation needs to be done for earlier eras. However, this is the first of a planned series of such bibliographies covering several decades. Recommended.

Choice Reviews

Greenberg (librarian, Jersey City Free P.L.) brings together complete bibliographic records and content exegeses of adult nonfiction, jazz-related titles. But this is no mere alphabetized list-to reduce the time required to locate research material, the 700 entries are broken into six chapter themes, including history, instruments, criticism, and musicology. Following this are five additional content categories, for example, discographies, pictorials, and conference proceedings, as well as three indexes organizing texts by subject, author, or title. A valuable reference for music scholars and jazz aficionados.

Library Journal

The citations are well crafted, giving full bibliographic information including volume subtitles and number of pages.

Edward Komara, SUNY Potsdam, Book Reviews

Jazz Books in the 1990s will be a highly useful resource for anyone interested in jazz scholarship in the last decade of the twentieth century or in the study of jazz generally. As a first volume in a projected ongoing bibliography, it sets a high standard.

American Reference Books Annual

Greenberg has done a terrific job in compiling a full, well-organized bibliography of books in jazz.

Book News, Inc.