Jazz Lives: 100 Portraits in Jazz

Dave D.C. Norman is a freelance contemporary-music journalist.

Lees and Reeves have created a masterpiece of their own with this
in-depth study of the world’s greatest jazz musicians, which combines
historical artist profiles and stunning black-and-white photographs.

Reeves’s photos are a large part of the book’s appeal. His subjects
are brought to life in both full-page layouts and frame-by-frame
time-delay shots. The faces of Artie Shaw, Moe Koffman, and Dizzy
Gillespie show quiet reflection, while those of Joe Williams, Oscar
Peterson, and Maynard Ferguson show exuberance. Tony Bennett, Henry
Mancini, and the Butman brothers may not be considered jazz purists, but
their contributions are also well represented here.

Lees—himself a jazz musician—provides a detailed history of jazz
and its many players that will interest both the novice and the seasoned
jazz expert. All in all, Jazz Lives would add class to any music
collection.