This is the autobiography by one of the wildest and most fascinating personalities of Rock music, drummer Ginger Baker. Published forty years after the peak of his popularity as member of the legendary Cream, Baker´s life story is a great piece of Rock history.

Told in great detail and spanning the period stretching from his childhood and until the mid 2000s (the Cream reunion), this is a tale of a strong man fighting his demons (drug abuse, violence and bed temper) and playing some incredible music on the way.

Baker´s life coincides with the history of British Rock of course, and his path from the early amateur Jazz bands, to professional Jazz bands to early modern Rock and Jazz-Rock (Graham Bond Organization) and later Cream, Blind Faith, Air Force… and then his involvement with African music and eventually his relocation to Africa… it´s all here.

The book is a relatively easy read, Baker´s life passing before the reader´s eyes like a documentary movie. Lot´s of typical British humor and his personal opinion about other musicians and events keep the reader glued until the very end. Highly recommended to all Classic Rock fans!

I compiled a discography of Finnish Jazz, which was published by the Finnish Music Information Centre. For me Finnish Jazz was always one of my favorites and the beautiful music originating in Finland is unfortunately little known outside the country, so I thought this might help record collectors as a guide. The discography includes over 600 titles.

I wrote this small book about Jazz in Israel at the request of my friends all over the world, who wanted to know something on the subject. It includes a history, list of musicians, clubs, festivals, schools and of course a discography.

An updated version of my book, with additional and updated information.

An illustrated catalog of the Soviet state record label, listing all the Jazz related albums released by the label. The catalog is sorted by topics, and each topic has a small article as an introduction. Nice graphic design and a lot of information.

Alexey Batashev was the first Russian Jazz writer and critic, who was allowed to publish his writings about Jazz under the Soviet regime. I met him many times and many bottles of vodka later we became friends. I also met him in Moscow, when I visited there. The book is a historical overview of Jazz in the Soviet state, covering the music from the early 20th century and up to the date of publication.

A collection of essays by the most important European Jazz writer / critic. Both history of the music and biographies of key innovators are covered, with Berendt´s unique insight and intelligence.

Earlier edition of this book - see the later edition for description.

This is probably the best basic textbook on jazz ever written. It covers all the introductory material, like styles, history, instruments and important musicians. It’s a monumental work, exquisitely written by the master of the trade. Joachim Berendt was one of the most important figures on the European jazz scene in the 1950’s – 1980’s as a producer, broadcaster, writer and festival organizer. Well-educated and passionate man whose knowledge of jazz was phenomenal and visionary and my personal friend and mentor for many years I might add. He also had the European perspective on jazz, so lacking by many US writers, who ignored the European scene completely - a gross oversight. If you need to read just one book about jazz - this is the one!

A great history of Jazz music, written by the best authorities in the field and editied by the greatest of them all. This book includes the European Jazz and its significan input to the genre, and therefore is much more ballanced that most American books on the subject. Richly illustrated by b/w photographs.

This is an exquisite book, which was originally created as the catalogue of an exhibition dedicated to the great Miles Davis, which was first presented in Paris (2009/2010) and later in Montreal (2010).

The book collects hundreds of superb photographs of Miles and his biography in seven chapters, telling his extraordinary story as outlined against the development of Jazz and as an Art Form. The elegant and fascinating graphic design (typically French) and intelligent and insightful texts (translated into English) make this a wonderful reading / aesthetic experience, not to be missed by any Miles´ fan.

Although there are several good books about Miles, his life and his music out there, this one presents a whole new experience, both visual and textual, which is unique and stunning. A must!

A great book about modern, post Bop Jazz written by two French Jazz critics / writers. Richly illustrated and well written, this is a great introduction to the subject.

A discography of Norwegian Jazz released on the small, but excellent Norwegian lablel ODIN. A brief history of the local Jazz scene is also included.

The only book about Jazz, which was allowed to be published in Socialist Romainia, by a critic and historian of the genre and my friend Mihai Berindei. Although the dictionary covers the entire genre, the coverage of the local scene is of course most interesting and a rare source of information about Jazz in Romania.

A landmark and gigantic work by Professor Paul F. Berliner about the thought processes involved in improvisation, the basis of Jazz music. Fifteen years in writing and experiencing Jazz at first hand as a player as well as interviewing the leading Jazz figures went into producing this work. This is a serious reading experience, but quite enlightening. Many musicological terms and music theory are used, but even less professional readers can comprehand most of it.

This is a fascinating autobiography by Polish guitarist Wieslaw Bernolak, one of the pioneers of Polish Rock. From the early 1960s, when he was a founding member of the Czerwono-Czarni (Red-Blacks), Bernolak experienced at first hand the early days of Rock And Roll under the Socialist Regime, which is a tale of "against all odds" from start to finish.

Later on Bernolak was a founding member of the excellent group Polanie, which was founded by joining several members of the Czerwono-Czarni with members from their bitter rivals Niebiesko-Czarni (Blue-Blacks). Polanie were the first Polish supergroup and their music was much more advanced that anything else at the time. The book ends in 1969, when Bernolak, like many other Poles, left his country, in his case to Sweden, to try their luck in a less stressful environment.

The memoirs are accompanied by many photographs, which add a visual aspect to the detailed story of these strange and fascinating times. People interested in the development of Rock behind the Iron Curtain will find this fascinating, but alas the book is in Polish, with limits the audience to Polish-speaking readers.

2nd volume of a Jazz encyclopedia issued in France by the French "Jazz Hot" magazine. As the title suggests, this volume tells the story of New Orleans and the early days of Jazz.

Quite an interesting book covering many different aspects of the Psychedelic phenomenon and nicely designed with many excellent photographs and art work. This book does not focus on the Psychedelic music, but extends to cover the history, the social phenomenon, the art, in short the entire scope that seems relevant. Definitely worth reading, especially for the younger generation that did not experience it first hand.

A great book by one of America´s most famous Jazz critics / writers, who tells the story of Jazz through eight short biographies of such Jazz greats like Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, Jack Teagarden, etc.

First book about Progressive Rock written and published in Israel (in Hebrew), which is mainly intended to serve as an introduction to the subject for the young generation of listeners who discovered Prog many years after it was born. Well written but limited in scope, still an excellent first read.

A biography of one of the Jazz legends written by one of the best British Jazz critics / writers. Superbly written and a great read, with insight and historical perspective.

A biography of Polish Jazz legend, saxophonist Zbigniew Namyslowski, a member of the Krzysztof Komeda Quintet (together with Tomasz Stanko) and later a leader of his own groups and the most influential Polish Jazzman.

This is a first of its kind attempt to write a comprehensive book about Jazz in Poland, one of the great European Jazz centers with a fascinating history and rich tradition. Brodacki, who was there to witness the development of Jazz in his homeland since the late 1960s as a fan, amateur musician, journalist, photographer, organizer and activist, has an extensive personal experience, on which the book is largely based.

However, although well researched and presenting a plethora of facts, all in chronological order, the author is not a historian per se, lacking the objectivity and historical perspective required in such a lofty task as presented by this book. Many of the opinions presented in this book are highly personal and often plainly biased, sometimes outdated and somewhat distorted by the usual Polish small envies, cliques, internal political struggles, etc. Some important Jazz personas are misrepresented or plainly omitted, other receive an exaggerated praise and importance.

In retrospect I´m quite convinced now that a proper history of Polish Jazz can be written only by an "outsider", i.e. someone with the skills and knowledge but not a Pole.

Altogether this book remains an important pioneering effort, which hopefully will be followed by a more thorough attempt in the near future.

A great collection of writings about the Polish Jazz scene after WWII from 1945 and until 1960, the early days. Considering that during most of that period Jazz was banned in Poland by the Socialist regime, this is a fascinating piece of history.

A great book, which tells the story of the 1960´s not by talking about the stars but rather from the point of view of the listeners, who were in their teens and early twenties at the time. Full of interesting insights about the social and political climate of the era and how these were reflected by the music. Essential reading to people interested in understanding the era or those of us who with to reminiscence.

Extensive and incredibly detailed biography of one of music´s greatest producer, Phil Spector, who invented the "Wall Of Sound" technique and dominated the recording industry for many years. Based on painstacking research and numerous interviews with Spector, the book outlines his personal life and musical career from his childhood and up to his jail sentence for murder. Very educational for anybody interested in the music industry.

A brief history of Jazz in Sweden, one of the European Jazz strongholds and a favorite refuge for many American Jazz musicians in the 1960´s.

This is a fantastic source of information about Jazz albums from literally around the world, many of them absolutely obscure, covering the sub-genres in the title.

This is a fantastic source of information about Jazz albums from literally around the world, many of them absolutely obscure, covering the sub-genres in the title.

A biography of Brazilian Jazz singer Flora Purim, wife of Airto Moreira, mostly about her experiences in the USA, with the usual fight against drug addiction episodes. Musically shallow, which is a pity as Purim is certainly one of the best female Jazz singers ever.

A country by country listing of European Jazz musicians.

A country by country listing of Jazz organizations, agents, clubs, etc.

A country by country listing of Jazz record labels, concert agencies, festivals, etc.