The Jazz Scene: An Informal History from New Orleans to 1990 W. Royal Stokes (Jazz critic, Jazz critic, Washington Post)
W. Royal Stokes is renowned for his ability to transform revealing interviews into elegant prose. Combining interview with perceptive commentary, this personal history of the whole history and spectrum of American jazz deals with the differing styles found in New Orleans, Chicago, Harlem, Detroit, and Kansas City, and introduces the reader to all manner of composers, bands, singers, and instrumentalists who made their name playing in American and Europe.