Text and photographs reveal the history of jazz and celebrate the contributions of Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, John Coltrane, and other artists.

Preface vii
 Ken Burns
 Gumbo: Beginnings to 1907 1 (36)
 The Gift: 1907--1917 37 (26)
 The Jazz Age: 1917--1924 63 (60)
 Freedom of expression with a Groove 116(7)
 Wynton Marsalis
 Our Language: 1925--1929 123(50)
 Hard, Hard Times: 1929--1935 173(60)
 Reminiscing in Tempo 224(9)
 Dan Morgenstern
 The Velocity of Celebration: 1936--1939 233(48)
 Dedicated to Chaos: 1940--1945 281(52)
 White Noise and White Knights: Some 324(9)
 Thoughts on Race, Jazz, and the White Jazz
 Musician
 Gerald Early
 Risk: 1945--1950 333(36)
 Extreme Jazz the Avant-Garde 360(9)
 Gary Giddins
 The Adventure: 1950--1960 369(58)
 The Presence Is Always the Point 418(9)
 Stanley Crouch
 A Masterpiece by Midnight: 1960 to the Present 427(36)
 Acknowledgments 463(2)
 Selected Bibliography 465(5)
 Index 470(17)
 Text Permissions 487(2)
 Illustration Credits 489(1)
 Film Credits 490