Books on JAZZ, BLUES, R & B plus Others

Title

Price ISBN Status
A Pictorial History of Jazz £25.99 S-H
All Music Guide to Jazz £22.95 087930717X NEW
Baby Soniat                 Fiction £14.00 S-H
Beatles Complete Chord Songbook £19.95 0711974594 NEW
This volume contains over 120 songs written and sung by The Beatles, specially arranged from the actual recordings, in the original keys. Each song includes chord symbols, guitar chord boxes and complete lyrics. The book also includes a playing guide and full discography.
Beatles Diary Volume £14.95 0711983089 NEW
A revealing and frank personal 30 year chronicle of the most famous band in the history of popular music. Written by Barry Miles, an intimate member of the band's circle during the sixties, it covers the Beatles story from childhood to the break-up of the group
Beatles Encyclopedia £14.99 0753504812 NEW
This encyclopedia provides a comprehensive guide to the band, containing details of the Beatles' history, records released, songs written and gigs played.
Beatles Off the Record £14.95 0711990093 NEW
In the 60s, before the legend was fully formed, The Beatles were sometimes unguarded and often indiscreet in their comments. Now these original raw remarks have been re-assembled in a verbal documentary shot through with the flavour of The Beatles in their heyday and the 60s musical scene.
Best of Jazz £11.99 1861051875 NEW
Bill Evans How my heart sings (by Peter Pettinger) £10.99 0300097271 NEW
A biography of the influential jazz pianist, Bill Evans. Peter Pettinger, himself a concert pianist, describes Evans's life, his personal tragedies and commercial successes, his music making, his technique and compositional methods, his approach to ensemble playing, and his legacy
       
Bill Wyman's Blues Odyssey £19.99 0751334421 NEW
In this evocative and intensely personal history of the blues, Bill Wyman pays tribute to the musicians who inspired him and whose music he took around the world as a member of the Rolling Stones
Billie Holiday £7.99 0575400161 NEW
Bird's Diary £12.99 1860741320 NEW
Black Hollywood £10.00 S-H
The History of Black Performers in the Motion Pictures Industry of Hollywood from the Early 70' to Today
Blue Note Records Biography £16.99 0436205203 NEW
This work chronicles a famous and influential jazz label, Blue Note Records, from its beginnings to the present day. It covers the label's development, its rise and fall, and its rebirth under the EMI umbrella. There is also an analysis of all the major records released throughout the years.
Boubon Street Black £25.99 S-H
Central Avenue Sounds £13.95 0520220986 NEW
Through the voices of musicians who performed on L.A.'s Central Avenue from the 1920s to the early 1950s, this text provides a picture of the Avenue's place in American musical history. Included are firsthand reminiscences by and about jazz legends such as Charlie Parker and Art Farmer
Clifford Brown £14.99 0195144007 NEW
Although he died in a tragic car accident at 25 Clifford Brown is widely considered one of the most important figures in the history of jazz, a trumpet player who ranks with Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, and Miles Davis. This biography is based on interviews with family, friends and musicians.
       
Collected Works: A Journal of Jazz 1954 - 2000 £20.00 1862074658 NEW
In his collected works, leading jazz critic Whitney Balliett captures the evolution of this popular music style since the mid-1950s. Charting some of the finest performances, at small clubs and festivals alike, he also addresses musical form, and the histories of various instruments.
Cookin Hard Bop & Soul Jazz 1954 1965  £12.99 1841952397 NEW
This volume examines the birth and development of two of the key jazz styles of the post-war era, hard bop and its related offshoot soul jazz. It looks at the founding fathers of the form, Art Blakey and Horace Silver and goes on to trace the music through its peak decade
Dead Mans Blues £27.95 0520215230 NEW
Covering the two periods (1917-1923 and 1940-1941) that Jelly Roll Morton spent on the West coast of America, this text offers a fresh interpretation of his life and work, shedding light on his personal and artistic development, as well as the crucial role played by Anita Gonzales
       
Deep Dream Long Night Chet Baker £20.00 070116381X NEW
James Gavin gives the reader a full account of the dark journey that was trumpet-player Chet Baker's life, from his emergence in the 1950s on the West Coast, to his becoming, virtually overnight, a giant of "cool" jazz, until his mysterious death in 1988.
Dudley Moore £6.99 0751514543 NEW
Moore is the poor boy from Essex who became an international film star. Covering schooldays, collaboration with Peter Cook, Alan Bennett and Jonathon Miller as the satirical revue "Beyond the Fringe", to television, and finally film, the author has spoken to Moore himself and family and friends.
Duke Ellington £12.99 0330367323 NEW
Rare as a bandleader-pianist who composed all his own material, Duke Ellington was one of the most romantic, flamboyant and charismatic figures in the colourful world of jazz. Nevertheless he was an intensely private man. This biography approaches him through the eyes of those who knew him
Gershwin Style £15.99 0195090209 NEW
George Gershwin is one of America's composers. The issues in this collection about Gershwin, touch on such topics of research as biography, source studies, analysis, and reception, and reflect the diversity of scholarship and thought regarding the Gershwins
Giant Steps £9.99 0862418593 NEW
Examining the most important figures in the creation of modern jazz, this book details the emergence of bebop through the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Fats Navarro, and The lonious Monk. It then delves into the developments of jazz composition through the likes of Miles Davis. top
Grant Green £12.95 087930698X NEW
Hard Bop: Jazz and Black Music 1955-1965 £10.95 0195085566 NEW
Hutch £8.99 0747552894 NEW
This biography examines the life of the West Indian singer-pianist Leslie Hutchinson who achieved international stardom and riches in the 1920s and 1930s
I Remember Jazz £26.99 0807113158 S-H
Impressions - Jazz Masters in Black & White £10.00 NEW

 

 

Jazz Black & White (Cats of any color) £13.00 0195102878 NEW
Jazz Cavalcade (1st Edition) £26.99 S-H
Jazz Generations £15.99 082644721X NEW
Jazz Odyssey Oscar Peterson £20.00 0826458076 NEW
An overview of the career of jazz pianist Oscar Peterson, from the fame of his early years as the star attraction of Canada's renowned Johnny Holmes Orchestra to the 1970s and his role as a solo pianist and television personality.
Jazz of the Barbary Coast £14.99 189077104X NEW
San Francisco's infamous Barbary Coast was one of the country's thriving centers of jazz in the early 1900's. Jazz on the Barbary Coast captures the incredible energy of the black jazz scene of this era through the first hand accounts of the men who were at the heart of it. Musicians such as Sid Le Protti, Rod Spikes, Wesley Fields, Alfred Levy and Charlie "Duke" Turner recreate the hot spots, dances, rivalries and lawlessness that characterized the San Francisco jazz scene and inspired jazz musicians for generation to come.
Jazz Rough Guide £17.99 1858285283 NEW
This reference book covers the whole range of jazz from Buddy Bolden, pioneer of jazz trumpet, to young players of the 1990s, like Roy Hargrove. Completely revised, it features more than 250 new artist biographies and reviews of their key recordings. top
Jazz: An Illustrated History of America's Music £30.00 0712667695 NEW
This work brings to life the story of the quintessential American music - jazz. Born in the black community of turn-of-the-century New Orleans but played from the beginning by musicians of every colour, the book celebrates the effect the music had on America as a whole.
John Coltrane £13.95 030681062X NEW
Reissued to commemorate the 75th anniversary of John Coltrane's birth, this book is an examination of the forces that shaped his brief life. It examines the influence of African folklore and spirituality on the work and sound of this legendary tenor saxophonist.
       
Kurt Cobain £6.99 0752844563 NEW
From his deprived and manic childhood, through to international stardom, wild sex, heroin addiction, alcoholism and violent death, this is a vivid insider's view of the life and death of Nirvana's Kurt Cobain, a man who gave birth to the grunge revolution and became a martyr for disaffected youth.
Living the Jazz Life £20.00 0195081080 NEW
Love Supreme John Coltrane £20.00 186207545X NEW
A copiously-researched study of saxophone legend John Coltrane's signature album, this text was written with the full co-operation of the Coltrane family and features the voices of musicians, producers and writers of the 1960s. It includes rare interviews and images.
Miles Davis Companion £9.95 0825672392 NEW
Draws on profiles, interviews, liner notes and original reviews of recordings to give a full picture of Davis's work. It also includes essays on the impact of his life and music.
Mingus  by Brian Priestley £14.95 0306802171 NEW
Mississippi Blues £27.00 0306808838 NEW
The blues, that unique form of African-American music, continues to hold a fascination with each successive generation of young people. Robert Nicholson a Scots born Londoner was grabbed as a teenager by the sounds of the Rolling Stones and George Thorogood. He quickly became aware of the real roots of the blues. Photographs by Logan Young the book presents a behind the scenes , often intimate, portrait of the main players on the current Delta Blues scene 03?4219125
Mourning John Lennon £13.95 0520215494 NEW
Interweaving discussions of celebrity, pop music, politics, feminism, psychoanalysis and postmodernism with analyses of John Lennon's life and art, this text contends that a consistent exploration of pain and loss in the wider emotional and political world is evident in the body of Lennon's works. top
Nat King Cole £27.00 03?4219125 NEW
New York Rocker £10.99 028306367X NEW
Gary Lachman, as Gary Valentine, was a founder member of Blondie, and wrote many of the group's early hits. This book is about the world from which Blondie grew, including Valentine's life alongside other luminaries of the era with whom he performed, including Iggy Pop
Old Gods almost Dead - Rolling Stones £19.99 1854108662 NEW
This is the story of the 40 year adventure of the Rolling Stones from their beginning in 1962 to their enduring popularity at the turn of the millennium. Their quarrels, addictions, descents into madness, broken marriages and legal traumas are recorded.
Oscar Peterson - The will to swing £13.99 0815410212 NEW
This biography delves into Peterson's career to help paint a potrait of this musical "legend". It is based on extensive interviews and provides an exploration of Peterson's music, a fusion of swing and bop styles that overhauled jazz as we know it.
Owning-Up: The Trilogy Classical Biography £6.99 0141390018 NEW
This single volume contains three memoirs from George Melly. "Scouse Mouse" is the touching story of the author's childhood; "Rum, Bum & Concertina" describes Melly's National Service; and "Owning Up" describes how he slipped into the world of the jazz revival.
Portrait of Duke Ellington £12.99 0330367323 NEW
Rare as a bandleader-pianist who composed all his own material, Duke Ellington was one of the most romantic, flamboyant and charismatic figures in the colourful world of jazz. Nevertheless he was an intensely private man. This biography approaches him through the eyes of those who knew him.
Rolling With The Stones £30.00 0751346462 NEW
An honest and humorous insight into The Rolling Stones, this visual record of the band from the sixties onwards features previously unpublished photographs, letters and memorabilia. It includes the key moments in the band's history from drug busts to solo careers. top
Roy Eldridge, Little Jazz Giant £25.00 0826456928 NEW
This biography charts the life and career of the trumpeter, Roy Eldridge. New light is shed on the various occasions when Eldridge unwillingly became entangled with gangsters, his uneven working relationships and the hurdles he had to overcome when working in all-white ensembles
Saint of Bourbon Street             Fiction £16.00 S-H
Sonny Rollins £12.99 1893163067 NEW
Spike Milligan £6.99 0863699294 NEW
The life of Spike. Relaxation was an evening in Ronny Scott's Club 
Sporting House £28.99 S-H
Stan & Ollie - The Roots of Comedy £25.00 0571203523 NEW
Not jazz but an interesting insight of their lives and work
Stan Getz - Nobody else but me £14.95 0879307293 NEW
Straight, No Chaser £10.95 0825672295 NEW
Biography of the legendary pianist/composer. Based on scores of interviews with family and friends, the book gives rare insights into the elusive personality of this legendary hero of jazz. top
Swing £14.95 0879306009 NEW
Texan Jazz £17.95 0292760450 NEW
The Ace Café - Then & Now £14.95 1870067436 NEW
Not Jazz but if you lived in the 50's and had a motor bike the chances are that you paid it a visit
The Art Pepper Companion £21.99 0815410670 NEW
The Bedford Triangle     £7.99 0750931736 NEW
Not Jazz but a Glen Miller connection
A graphic portrayal of the crucial part played by aircraft and personnel of the US Army Air Force (USAAF), American Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and British Special Operations Executive (SOE) operations behind enemy lines in occupied Europe during World War II.
The Charlie Parker Companion £9.95 0825671701 NEW
Charlie Parker was a legendary alto saxophonist, combo leader and composer. This book gathers all of the interviews ever given by Parker during his lifetime, plus early reviews, articles and memoirs
The Jazz People of New Orleans £30.00 0224030515 S-H
The Master of Bebop £12.99 0306810093 NEW
A jazz historian describes the development of bebop through profiles of musicians and their influence on instrumental style. Through interviews and analyses of recordings, he gets at the obscure origins of bebop, its provocative challenge to jazz tradition and its influence on American culture. top
Visions of Jazz £15.00 0195132416 NEW
A jazz historian describes the development of bebop through profiles of musicians and their influence on instrumental style. Through interviews and analyses of recordings, he gets at the obscure origins of bebop, its provocative challenge to jazz tradition and its influence on American culture.
West Coast Jazz £13.95 0520217292 NEW
This text examines jazz icons such as Gerry Mulligan and Chet Baker whilst also incorporating the careers of other West Coast jazz men, both well-known and obscure, in a basic history of the California scene.
Whispering Years - Bob Harris £16.99 0563537752 NEW
Bob Harris's trademark "whisper" has always given him a distinctive presence on radio. After 30 years in the business he tells the story of his rollercoaster journey, from passionate music fan to music journalist to his radio career with "Sounds of the Seventies" on Radio 1
Note: S-H is good quality second hand books
Searches for Rare or Out of Print Books Performed
  email us for availability
contactus@courtyardbooks.co.uk 
 
Other books available but not generally in stock
88: The Giants of Jazz Piano £19.95 0879406564
A New History of Jazz £20.00 082646338X
Before Motown £14.50 0472067656
Bill Evans (by Keith Shadwick) £13.95 0879307080
Heaven on the Side: A Jazz Life £14.00 0738856029
Jazz Cultures £13.95 0520228898
Jazz in American Culture £12.99 1853312045
Like Young £12.99 0306811863
Rat Race Blues £12.99 1893163253
Round About Midnight £12.99 0306806843
So What: The Life of Miles Davis £18.99 0434007595
Such Sweet Thunder £25.00 0743208358
The Best of Jazz £11.99 1861051875  
The Cover Art of Blue Note Records £14.99 185585919X
The Gil Evans Out of the Cool £23.50 1556524250

top