October 2023 MBR The Literary Studies Shelf

The Literary Studies Shelf

Jazz Fiction: Take Two
David Rife, author
James Langdon, editor
Lulu Publishing
www.lulu.com
9781387422715, $43.02, HC, 458pp

https://www.amazon.com/Jazz-Fiction-Take-David-Rife/dp/1387422715

Synopsis: "Jazz Fiction: Take Two", written by David Rife and edited by James Langdon, is the sequel volume to "Jazz Fiction: A History and Comprehensive Reader's Guide" which was originally published in 2008.

While the earlier work filled a pressing need in jazz studies by identifying and discussing 700 works of fiction with a jazz component, "Jazz Fiction: Take Two" surveys over 500 newer works of jazz-inflected fiction that have appeared from the turn of the 21st century to the present.

The essay style reviews at the heart of the book give readers a sense of the plot of each surveyed work and characterizes its debt to jazz. The entries are written with both general readers and scholars in mind and are intended to entertain as well as inform. This alone qualifies Jazz Fiction: Take Two as an original and useful resource.

Critique: Informative, comprehensive, and deftly organized into three major sections (Introduction to Select Categories; Works Under Review; Reader Resources and Indices), "Jazz Fiction: Take Two" also features a four page Jazz Players and Friends Reference Index, as well as a thirteen page Title Index. Offering a wealth of impressively organized and presented 'reader friendly' information and history that will be of particular and special interest to fans, students, and practitioners of American Jazz, this exceptional and seminal compendium of jazz music history, recordings, and musicians is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, community, college, and university library Jazz Music History collections and supplemental Music Biography/Index curriculum studies lists. It should be noted that "Jazz Fiction: Take Two" is also readily available in a paperback edition (9781387515608, $27.10) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $15.00).

Editorial Note #1: The publication of "Jazz Fiction: A History and Comprehensive Reader's Guide" (Scarecrow Press, 9780810859074, $82.00, PB, 292pp) in November of 2007 revealed that David Rife's annotations qualify as short critical essays, generally providing a jargon-free, often witty presentation, making them a pleasure to read. Broad in scope, meticulously researched, and comprehensive with titles that have long been inaccessible, this definitive resource is essential for libraries and valuable to scholars and fans of jazz and literature.

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