Jazz (A Book Review)

Jazz (Review by Leighanne Massey)

Bibliography

Myers, Walter Dean. Jazz. New York: Holiday House, Inc., 2006. ISBN 0823415457

Plot Summary

Beginning with an interesting overview of the birth of Jazz and a glossary of terms in the back, this book's colorful and vibrant pages move you to the rhythm and beat of each unique and brilliantly worded poem prose and verse. Cleverly engineered by Walter Dean Myers and his son Christopher, this is a masterpiece anyone can appreciate.  

Critical Analysis

"Start with rhythm. Start with the heart. Drumming in tongues. Along the Nile. A Black man's drum. Speaks LOVE. Start with RHYTHM. Start with the HEART. Work songs. Gospel. Triumph. Despair. Voices. Lifted From the soul (Jazz)." 

With each musical poem in this picture book, Myers sets the tone and feel of jazz, representing it in its different forms. With the bright and distinctive illustrations, it's as if Myers makes the characters dance along to the beat unfolding in the reader's mind. Christopher Myer's use of shadows and dark colors signify dramatic moments, emotions and gestures of musical impact. With a reference to Louis Armstrong, a representation of a New Orleans funeral, and the child-like appeal of the repeating lines of the poem 'Three Voices,' many readers will enjoy Jazz on so many different levels. With such precise and carefully chosen language, it begs to be sung/chanted aloud and repeated over and over again.                 

Review Excerpt(s)

Coretta Scott King – Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement (inaugural year-2010)

Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award Honor Book (2006)

"The father-and-son team behind blues journey creates a scintillating paean to jazz. Walter Dean Myers infuses his lines (and the rests between them) with so much savvy syncopation that readers can't help but be swept up in the rhythms."-Publishers Weekly

"The highly acclaimed author opens with a title poem that speaks of the African origins of jazz and "[d]rumming in tongues along the Nile," then swings to an exuberant tribute to Louie Armstrong in which that legendary trumpet player spanks a bad tune "like a naughty boy." The rhythm and word-play of poems such as "Be-Bop" and "Three Voices" will have kids bouncing and repeating lines like "[a] bippety-bop snake can't bite my style" and "[t]hum, thum, thum, and thumming/I feel the ocean rhythm coming." -Children's Literature - Mary Quattlebaum

"Gr 5-9-Expanding on Blues Journey (Holiday House, 2003), this talented father and son have produced new poetry and paintings to explore a wider repertoire of jazz forms. An introduction provides historical and technical background, briefly touching on influences, improvisation, rhythm, and race. Spreads then pulsate with the bold, acrylic-and-ink figures and distorted perspectives that interpret the multiple moods and styles set forth in the text." -School Library Journal

"A cycle of 15 poems and vivid, expressive paintings celebrate that most American genre of music: jazz. Myers pŠre presents readers with poems that sing like their subject, the drumming of African rhythms leading into a celebration of Louis Armstrong, an evocation of stride piano, a recreation of a New Orleans jazz funeral and a three-part improvisation among bass, piano and horn. A script-like display type appears sparingly, guiding readers to the sound of jazz embedded in the poems' syncopated rhythms." -Kirkus Reviews

Connections

Other Walter Dean Myers books to check out:

Michael L. Printz Award (First) (1999), Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award Honor Book(1999), National Book Award Honor for Young People’s Literature(1999):

• Myers, Walter Dean. Monster. New York: HarperCollins, 2004. ISBN 9780064407311

Coretta Scott King Honor Award (2011):

• Myers, Walter Dean. Lockdown. New York: HarperCollins, 2011. ISBN 9780061214820

Coretta Scott King Author Award Honor Book (2014):

• Myers, Walter Dean. Darius & Twig. New York: HarperCollins, 2014. ISBN 9780061728259

Jazz would be a great story for music teachers to utilize for young students when teaching them about the different aspects of music. It also provides a historical context, drawing on other musicians from History. There are even references to New Orleans, so it could also be used for a brief opener to historical contexts.

Monster and Lockdown are good resources for teens who might relate to the characters. It is a story about the consequences of actions and how making choices is vitally important. It could be used as a great guidance lesson or discussion piece for older students. 

Darius & Twig is the story of personal hardship. Older students can relate to the characters and potentially glean hope or inspiration from the strength of friendship.