Exploring the development of jazz music from its nineteenth-century roots in blues and ragtime, through swing and bebop, to fusion and contemporary jazz styles. The book devotes a full third of its coverage to performers from the 1960s to the present day. It also includes expansive coverage of women in jazz. Biographies, social history, and timelines at the beginning of chapters put music into context, while insightful listening guides tie the history of jazz music directly to the downloadable selections.