Free Jazz: The Shape& Sound

PRINT
Giddins, Gary. Visions of Jazz: The First Century. Oxford Univ. 1998. ISBN 978-0-19-507675-2. $35. MUSIC
Giddins, one of the more vocal (and established) critics excited about the "new thing" of free jazz from the first sax squeal, gave space in this weighty overview to the music of John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, and Cecil Taylor. Out of print.

Jenkins, Todd S. Free Jazz and Free Improvisation: An Encyclopedia. 2 vols. Greenwood Pr. 2004. ISBN 978-0-313-29881-3. $193.95. REF
Composed of capsule and not-so-capsule biographies of free jazz musicians across the spectrum. The layout is clean and minimal, the scope exhaustive. Discographies would have been nice, but, in that regard, allmusic.com or a Penguin Guide will suffice.

Kahn, Ashley. The House That Trane Built: The Story of Impulse Records. Norton. 2006. ISBN 978-0-393-05879-6. $29.95. MUSIC
Even though it leaves out important figures like Coleman and Taylor, this handsomely illustrated volume gives the full story of the label that gave us John Coltrane, Alice Coltrane, Archie Shepp, and (lesser but still important) figures like Sam Rivers.

Litweiler, John. The Freedom Principle: Jazz After 1958. Morrow. 1984. ISBN 978-0-688-02246-4. $15.95. MUSIC
Chapters of this very readable primer on the first wave of free jazz music are devoted to the titans of the genre as well as to the European scene, Chicago, and the creation of (and later transition away from) the free jazz sound. Also sadly out of print.

WEB
Allmusic 
allmusic.com
This jack-of-all-trades music site features passionate, intelligent discussions on all the free jazz musicians, along with thorough discographies and cross references that can serve as excellent buying guides.

freejazz-stef.blogspot.com
www.freejazz.org
www.indiejazz.com
Discussion, history, and record reviews of free jazz figures both past and present—emphasis on present. Think it began and ended with the likes of Ornette Coleman and Sun Ra? Think again. Free improvisation has become a credo, a way of life.

Wire Magazine
www.thewire.co.uk
Crucially subtitled "Adventures in Modern Music," this venerable English publication is the place to find informed and enthusiastic discussion of new and strange music. It has also run some excellent pieces on free jazz’s founding figures, like a 2002 cover story on Alice Coltrane.

"Free Jazz/Punk Rock"
www.notbored.org/bangs.html
"The Real Godfathers of Punk"
www.furious.com/perfect/jazzpunk.html
"Top Ten from the Free Jazz Underground" 
www.geocities.com/jahsonic/FreeJazz.html
These three passionate articles by legendary rock critic Lester Bangs, Perfect Sound Forever’s Jason Gross, and Sonic Youth guitarist and underground gadfly Thurston Moore, respectively, are excellent testaments to the enduring allure and influence that free jazz has had over other genres of experimental music. They are also good basics for a thesis on how this wild jazz was the first punk, metal, etc. Perfect for neophytes and entry-level fans.