Jazz is American—as American as skyrockets on the Fourth of July or turkey on Thanksgiving Day. It's our own unique music that grew and grew until the whole world sat up and listened.

Jazz has a history as exciting as its rhythms. The roll of African drums, the dancing quadrilles of old New Orleans, the marching tunes of that city's brass bands, the work songs of the levees, the field hollers of the cotton plantations, the spirituals, the jubilees, the blues, the offbeats of ragtime—all these went into jazz's making. In THE FIRST BOOK OF JAZZ Langston Hughes, a longtime jazz enthusiast, relates how all this came about, gives a clear account of just what jazz is, and tells of some of the colorful personalities that have helped make American jazz.

His simple explanation of jazz's ten basic elements, his Honor Roll of famous jazz musicians past and present, and his list of suggested records for a basic jazz music collection make this book of especial value to new jazz enthusiasts.

From the dust jacket