Jazz
“Father of Jazz”, Buddy Bolden
Biographies and Autobiographies
"Miles: The Autobiography" by Miles Davis
"Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original" by Robin D.G. Kelley
"Beneath the Underdog" by Charles Mingus
"John Coltrane: His Life and Music" by Lewis Porter
"Lady Sings the Blues" by Billie Holiday
"Herbie Hancock: Possibilities" by Herbie Hancock
"Straight Life: The Story Of Art Pepper" by Art Pepper
"Kansas City Lightning: The Rise and Times of Charlie Parker" by Stanley Crouch
"Bird Lives!: The High Life & Hard Times of Charlie (Yardbird) Parker" by Ross Russell
"Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong" by Terry Teachout
"Duke: A Life of Duke Ellington" by Terry Teachout
"Myself When I am Real: The Life and Music of Charles Mingus" by Gene Santoro
Jazz History and Culture
"The History of Jazz" by Ted Gioia
"But Beautiful: A Book About Jazz" by Geoff Dyer
"Visions of Jazz: The First Century" by Gary Giddins
"Jazz: A History of America's Music" by Geoffrey C. Ward
"The Birth Of Bebop: A Social And Musical History" by Scott DeVeaux
"Early Jazz: Its Roots and Musical Development" by Gunther Schuller
"The Jazz Book: From Ragtime to Fusion and Beyond" by Joachim-Ernst Berendt
"Blues People: Negro Music in White America" by Amiri Baraka
Theory and Guides
"How to Listen to Jazz" by Ted Gioia
"The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire" by Ted Gioia
"The Jazz Theory Book" by Mark Levine
"Thinking in Jazz: The Infinite Art of Improvisation" by Paul F. Berliner
"The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings" by Richard Cook
Jazz in Media and Fiction
"The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald
"Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet" by Jamie Ford
"Half-Blood Blues" by Esi Edugyan
"On the Road" by Jack Kerouac
Notable Works on Albums and Songs
"Kind Of Blue: The Making Of The Miles Davis Masterpiece" by Ashley Kahn
"A Love Supreme: The Story of John Coltrane's Signature Album" by Ashley Kahn
"The House That Trane Built: The Story of Impulse Records" by Ashley Kahn
