Jazz Masters of the 20s

Published by Da Capo Press, 1988
Paperback: 278 pages

The jazz decade saw the emergence of many of the great figures who defined the music for the world: Louis Armstrong, Bessie Smith, Earl Hines, Bix Beiderbecke, Fats Waller, Jack Teagarden, Fletcher Henderson - these giants set the standards for blues singing, big band arrangements, and solo improvisation that are the foundations for jazz.

Richard Hadlock has chapters on each, with a discography and descriptions of all the players who made the '20s swing.