'it remains one of the most significant contributions to jazz scholarship to this day.' Music Teacher 'Schuller has a rare gift for conveying his wonderment and love of his subject matter without ever compromising academic discipline...for all his painstaking precise academic exactitudes, he is never dry or overly technical...It would be hard to imagine this book ever being superceded. ... Read moreAs far as I can see, it is definitive.' Music and Musicians 'an excellent work ... Without doubt, the book is masterly in its approach and would serve as both an ideal introduction to the young student of jazz and to the established fan who wants to delve more deeply into the music origins.' The Star 'an almost unprecedented approach for a writer on jazz, he has described and analysed the music itself.' The Times 'Here at last is the definitive work...clear, thorough, objective, sophisticated, original. A remarkable book by any standard, it is unparalleled in the literature of jazz.' New York Times Book Review Show Less