The Penguin Guide to Jazz
Encyclopedia
The Penguin Guide to Jazz is a reference work
containing an encyclopedic directory of jazz
recordings on CD
which are currently available in Europe or the United States. The first nine editions were compiled by Richard Cook
and Brian Morton
, two well known chroniclers of jazz resident in the United Kingdom.
by Penguin Books
in 1992. Every two years since then, a new edition has been published with updated entries. The eighth and ninth editions, published in 2006 and 2008, respectively, each include 2,000 new CD listings.
The title has taken different forms over the lifetime of the work, as audio technology has changed. The seventh edition was known as The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD while subsequent editions are titled The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. The earliest edition had the title The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, LP and Cassette.
Richard Cook died in 2007, prior to the completion of the 9th edition (2008). Penguin released The Penguin Jazz Guide: The History of the Music in the 1001 Best Albums in December 2010, using fewer reviews and a different format from previous editions.
. Each disc is given a rating of up to four stars and details of its label and catalogue number, musicians featured on the disc, month and year of the recording or the span of time in which the tracks were recorded and finally a review of varying length. Often a number of discs are reviewed together.
Two extra features, author's picks (crowns) and "core collections," have been added to succeeding editions. The first shows entries flagged as personal favorites while the latter are the "more essential" albums for a jazz CD collection. John Eyles comments in a review that "the implication is that the choices for crowns are subjective, while the Core Collection is somehow more objective," when in fact both lists are decided upon by the same two editors.
Bootlegs and "issues of dubious provenance" have usually been excluded, but as the major labels have merged and cut back their reissue programmes, the restriction on 'grey market' releases, usually in existence as a result of less stringent copyright laws in Europe, has gradually become more relaxed. Limited-edition Mosaic Records
releases are also excluded. Various-artists compilations were reviewed in the first edition but have since been dropped.
Due to the increasing numbers of CDs on the market, space limitations and depth of coverage have increasingly become an issue: in the 7th edition, for instance, the index was dropped to save space, but it was restored in the 8th edition (but a number of entries were dropped or shortened to make room for it).
In the tenth edition, titled The Penguin Jazz Guide (2010), Morton revised his and Cook's entries from previous editions, and pared down the content to 1001 reviews of what Morton had selected as the best jazz recordings. Morton also presented the reviews in chronological order by recording dates, rather than alphabetically by artist, and included historical context for the recordings as well as biographical details. The tenth edition also dispensed with the starred rating system, the Core Collection, and Crown accolades.
Alison Kerr, reviewing the 2010 Penguin Jazz Guide in The Herald
, noted the lack of an index as a hindrance, but cited the chronological format as one of the book's strengths. Kerr also noted the subjective nature of Morton's selection of the best jazz albums.
Reference work
A reference work is a compendium of information, usually of a specific type, compiled in a book for ease of reference. That is, the information is intended to be quickly found when needed. Reference works are usually referred to for particular pieces of information, rather than read beginning to end...
containing an encyclopedic directory of jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
recordings on CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
which are currently available in Europe or the United States. The first nine editions were compiled by Richard Cook
Richard Cook
Richard David Cook was a British jazz writer, magazine editor and former record company executive.Sometimes credited as R. D. Cook, Cook was born in Kew, Surrey and lived in west London as an adult. He was co-author, with Brian Morton, of The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings , now in its ninth...
and Brian Morton
Brian Morton (Scottish writer)
Brian Morton is a Scottish writer, journalist and broadcaster, mainly specialising in jazz and modern literature. Born in Paisley, near Glasgow and raised in Dunoon, Morton was educated at Edinburgh University and taught in the late 1970s at the University of East Anglia and the University of...
, two well known chroniclers of jazz resident in the United Kingdom.
History
The first edition was published in BritainUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
by Penguin Books
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a publisher founded in 1935 by Sir Allen Lane and V.K. Krishna Menon. Penguin revolutionised publishing in the 1930s through its high quality, inexpensive paperbacks, sold through Woolworths and other high street stores for sixpence. Penguin's success demonstrated that large...
in 1992. Every two years since then, a new edition has been published with updated entries. The eighth and ninth editions, published in 2006 and 2008, respectively, each include 2,000 new CD listings.
The title has taken different forms over the lifetime of the work, as audio technology has changed. The seventh edition was known as The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD while subsequent editions are titled The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. The earliest edition had the title The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, LP and Cassette.
Richard Cook died in 2007, prior to the completion of the 9th edition (2008). Penguin released The Penguin Jazz Guide: The History of the Music in the 1001 Best Albums in December 2010, using fewer reviews and a different format from previous editions.
Content
In the first nine editions, artists are listed alphabetically and the entries begin with short (usually one paragraph) biographies before a comprehensive listing of a musicians' available recordingsDiscography
Discography is the study and listing of the details concerning sound recordings, often by specified artists or within identified musical genres...
. Each disc is given a rating of up to four stars and details of its label and catalogue number, musicians featured on the disc, month and year of the recording or the span of time in which the tracks were recorded and finally a review of varying length. Often a number of discs are reviewed together.
Two extra features, author's picks (crowns) and "core collections," have been added to succeeding editions. The first shows entries flagged as personal favorites while the latter are the "more essential" albums for a jazz CD collection. John Eyles comments in a review that "the implication is that the choices for crowns are subjective, while the Core Collection is somehow more objective," when in fact both lists are decided upon by the same two editors.
Bootlegs and "issues of dubious provenance" have usually been excluded, but as the major labels have merged and cut back their reissue programmes, the restriction on 'grey market' releases, usually in existence as a result of less stringent copyright laws in Europe, has gradually become more relaxed. Limited-edition Mosaic Records
Mosaic Records
Mosaic Records is an American specialist jazz record label, founded in 1983 by Michael Cuscuna and Charlie Lourie to issue coherent limited edition box sets of jazz recordings by individual musicians, which had fallen out-of-print...
releases are also excluded. Various-artists compilations were reviewed in the first edition but have since been dropped.
Due to the increasing numbers of CDs on the market, space limitations and depth of coverage have increasingly become an issue: in the 7th edition, for instance, the index was dropped to save space, but it was restored in the 8th edition (but a number of entries were dropped or shortened to make room for it).
In the tenth edition, titled The Penguin Jazz Guide (2010), Morton revised his and Cook's entries from previous editions, and pared down the content to 1001 reviews of what Morton had selected as the best jazz recordings. Morton also presented the reviews in chronological order by recording dates, rather than alphabetically by artist, and included historical context for the recordings as well as biographical details. The tenth edition also dispensed with the starred rating system, the Core Collection, and Crown accolades.
Reception
Though the first nine editions did not "spring any great surprises," the book "has a tried and trusted formula that works". It is also praised as being "of equal value to both experienced jazz listeners and novices."Alison Kerr, reviewing the 2010 Penguin Jazz Guide in The Herald
The Herald (Glasgow)
The Herald is a broadsheet newspaper published Monday to Saturday in Glasgow, and available throughout Scotland. As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 47,226, giving it a lead over Scotland's other 'quality' national daily, The Scotsman, published in Edinburgh.The 1889 to 1906 editions...
, noted the lack of an index as a hindrance, but cited the chronological format as one of the book's strengths. Kerr also noted the subjective nature of Morton's selection of the best jazz albums.
Editions
| Edition | Title | Year | ISBN-13 |
| 1st | The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, LP and Cassette | 1992 | |
| 2nd | The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, LP and Cassette | 1994 | |
| 3rd | The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD | 1996 | |
| 4th | The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD | 1998 | |
| 5th | The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD | 2000 | |
| 6th | The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD | 2002 | |
| 7th | The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD | 2004 | |
| 8th | The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings | 2006 | |
| 9th | The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings | 2008 | |
| 10th | The Penguin Jazz Guide | 2010 | |
See also
- List of Crown albums in The Penguin Guide to Jazz
- List of Core Collection albums in The Penguin Guide to Jazz
- All Music Guide to Jazz
External links
- Listing at Penguin Books (9th ed.)
- List of all Four-Star albums, Crown albums, Core albums and Top 1001 albums (1st – 10th editions; not affiliated with the publisher nor authors)
- List of Crown albums (1st – 8th editions; not affiliated with the publisher nor authors)
- List of Core Collection albums (1st – 8th editions; not affiliated with the publisher nor authors)