Following on from the author's previous work, "Early Jazz", this detailed history of jazz covers the crucial era which saw the rise of big band swing and the transition to the more "avant-garde" bop style which revolutionized jazz in the 1940s.

Focusing on that extraordinary period in American musical history--1933 to 1945--when jazz was synonymous with America's popular music, The Swing Era puts this era into new perspective. Thorough scholarship, critical perceptio ns and a great love for jazz make this "the ultimate jazz history".--The New Republic. More than 500 music examples.

'Reading it is like listening to one of those hugely learned men with the gift of the gab, like Bronowski or A.J.P. Taylor, talking about his favourite subject. Every observation is backed by evidence, every generalisation judiciously qualified, every side-issue detailed in a footnote, but it is all done without a trace of pomposity. The real enjoyment in reading The Swing Era, as in reading Johnson's Lives of the Poets, comes from being taught more about something you love by an erudite, courteous and generous mind.' Dave Gelly, Jazz, Issue 12