Jazz books: The stories — and the people — behind some great music

"The Jazz Image," Lee Tanner (Abrams, $10). This gorgeous coffee-table collection of moody, low-lit black-and-white duotones — many printed across two pages — is unusual in that it was assembled by a jazz photographer (Tanner) but also features favorites by other photographers. That means images — some iconic, some unfamiliar — of Duke Ellington, Anita O'Day, Ornette Coleman, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane and the usual suspects, snapped by the greats: Tanner himself, William Claxton, Milt Hinton, Jim Marshall, Jerry Stoll, Herman Leonard and others. A lovely book that captures the spirit of the music and people who make it — on, off and behind the stage.

"The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings" (Eighth Edition), Richard Cook and Brian Morton (Penguin, $30). Opinionated, chatty, deftly written and easily the most comprehensive guide in the field, this indispensable reference to jazz on CD is so much better than the competition (the too-nice, error-ridden "All Music Guide"), it's worth pointing out. Kudos to English writers Richard Cook and Brian Morton for continually revising their magnum opus.

The new edition adds 2,000 new discs and over 400 new artists and eliminates hundreds of other entries in the interest of slimming down (by over 200 pages) from years past. The format is unchanged — name, vital statistics, quickie bio, CDs reviewed in batches, with personnel and dates (but no program list) supplied.

God bless 'em for reviewing (or at least trying to review) only CDs you can actually buy — i.e. those still in print — and no LPs.

"Django Reinhardt and the Illustrated History of Gypsy Jazz," Michael Dregni (Speck Press, $25). Seattle's own Pearl Django is pictured at the back of this fascinating history of Gypsy jazz, an outgrowth of author Michael Dregni's biography of hot swing guitar genius Django Reinhardt. With rare pictures of very cool spots and memorabilia, it supplies the historical and musical context for Gypsy jazz, including the fascinating Paris musette scene as well as biographies of important Gypsy jazz musicians you probably don't know about, up to the grand revival we are currently experiencing.

Though the garish design and ham-handed layout are a strident argument against computer-generated books, this is a fascinating volume.

"The House That Trane Built: The Story of Impulse Records," Ashley Kahn (W. W. Norton, $29.95). By the same author who did micro-studies of Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue" and John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme," "The House That Trane Built" tells the story of the rather amazing Impulse jazz record label. If you're of a certain age, you've no doubt owned at least one of those orange and black, hinge-covered LPs. We're talking about John Coltrane's "Live at the Village Vanguard" and "A Love Supreme," Ray Charles' "Genius + Soul," Benny Carter's "Further Definitions," Oliver Nelson's "The Blues and the Abstract Truth" and Charles Mingus' "Black Saint and the Sinner Lady," among many other classics in the 300-plus Impulse catalog, produced from 1960 to '77.

Though the Billboard-magazine-inspired text is a bit over-awed by the money-and-power lore of record executives (and light on musical analysis), this lively account of the label offers balanced portraits of producers Creed Taylor and Bob Thiele, who mixed commercial instincts with rare talent-scouting; two-page examinations of selected albums; some rare memorabilia photos; and a complete listing of every Impulse album ever produced.

"Alive at the Village Vanguard," Lorraine Gordon (Hal Leonard, $27.95). OK, so you read owner/founder Max Gordon's account of the Village Vanguard, the longest-lived jazz club in the world. Now here's his wife's side of the story, the woman who's been running the club since Max died. A fascinating New York character, Lorraine Gordon has been married to two of the most influential men in jazz and is now rather influential herself.

A Jersey girl who, back in the day, apparently looked pretty good in a bathing suit, Lorraine was inspired to form a local "hot club" by the famous John Hammond-produced 1938 Spirituals to Swing concert at Carnegie Hall. She eventually married Alfred Lion, of Blue Note records fame, and worked long hours with him, producing albums by artists such as Thelonious Monk. When Alfred didn't want to have children, she married Gordon, for whom she served as housewife and mom, albeit a politically active one who wound up going to Hanoi during the Vietnam War.

Though it's short on backstage gossip and, in places, oddly detached, this short, fascinating memoir reveals that rare avis — a club owner with a great ear for music and real sympathy for musicians. A must-read for anyone who follows jazz.

"Music and the Creative Spirit," Lloyd Peterson (Scarecrow, $39.95). Here's a thought: Interview jazz musicians without even mentioning their latest product, latest tour or record label affiliation — just ask them about music, life, the world and art. What a concept. Seattle avant-garde jazz fan Lloyd Peterson — a familiar face in the crowd at local jazz events — interviewed dozens of mostly avant-garde jazz and/or improvising musicians with just this agenda in mind.

Though his premises and prejudices are woefully unexamined — what do "freedom" and "creative" or "move the music forward" mean, exactly? — the results are often refreshing. And useful, too, since Peterson basically just lets his subjects talk, rarely guiding them or intervening. With willing and articulate interviewees like Marilyn Crispell, George Lewis and Derek Bailey, this method produces some meaty moments. With subjects who need to be pried away from clichés about the wonder of the universe, the results are, needless to say, somewhat lighter.

One caveat emptor: Of the four cover photographs, two — John Zorn and Pat Metheny — are not interviewed. Nevertheless, we need more books like this, in which jazz artists talk about what it is they actually do, and why, without necessarily talking shop.

Paul de Barros: 206-464-3247 or pdebarros@seattletimes.com