This is a unique jazz reference book that covers jazz with much more range and depth than other jazz histories or reference books. Most of the major critics in jazz today have written articles for the book.

The 60 entries cover jazz in all its aspects. Entries include all the historical periods of jazz - from its African and European roots, its progenitors in blues and ragtime, and its major periods and styles: New Orleans, The Swing Era, Bebop, and Modern Jazz. There are separate pieces on the major figures - from Louis Armstrong to John Coltrane - and on singers, pianists, and big bands and jazz composition in each period. Each jazz instrument, from saxophone to drums, has its own history.
Separate entries cover jazz around the world: Latin Jazz, Europe, Britain and the Commonwealth, Brazil, Japan, and Africa. The book ranges over such topics as jazz dance, criticism, education, and jazz in literature and films and television.