Jazz in Its Time

From brief profiles of musicians to serious academic pieces, Martin Williams has been perceptively chronicling the development of jazz for over three decades. In this, his newest collection of jazz writings, Williams brings together many of his best pieces and covers new ground, with short critiques on, among others, Teddy Wilson (favorable) and George Winston (unfavorable). A longer article, "How Long Has This Been Going On?, " examines developments in jazz during the past twenty years and the current state of the music. Also included are a series of short essays considering the musicianship of jazz greats from Sidney Bechet to Ornette Coleman, Lionel Hampton, Lee Konitz, Art Farmer, and others. Together, these works provide an insightful overview of the development of jazz past and present.