JAZZ by Walter Dean Myers

Bibliographic Data

Myers, Walter Dean.  2006.  JAZZ.  New York:  Holiday House.  ISBN-10:  0823415457

Plot Summary 

Jazz is a richly blended experience of music, culture, and history.  It begins with an informational narrative of the beginnings of jazz music, then follows with a variety of poems that celebrate music, musicians, and styles of jazz.  From the sultry love songs of a night club to the surprising, celebratory sounds of a funeral procession, this book guides the reader through a variety of experiences and feelings that jazz has to offer.

Critical Analysis

Even a reader with just a little knowledge of jazz music will recognize its influence in the written words of the text.  Most of the poems are written free verse, with some rhyming mixed throughout, but the real treat is in the rhythmic punch of the words that sound like a cultural chant when read aloud.  Casual speech and slang pay tribute to the African culture that was responsible for bringing its unique musical sound to America during the times of slave trading, which evolved into the jazz we know today.

Perhaps as a nod to the origins of jazz, a blending of two vastly different musical cultures, the author integrates two distinctly different fonts within each poem.  The majority of the book is printed in traditional, crisp lettering, but short bursts of loose, scripted lettering are scattered about.  Sometimes the script highlights the sounds of the instruments, such as the “bee ba boodie, boo” of a keyboard or a drum’s “rat-a-tatting.”  Other times it simply draws attention to a word or phrase that the author wants you to notice, such as the word “good-bye” said to an old friend at his funeral, or the pleading “mercy, mercy, mercy” of the saxophone player who has to play all night and then go home alone to mourn a broken relationship.

Expertly crafted words and phrases bring the sound and rhythm of jazz music off the page, in texts like “Go screa-------min’, go screamin’…..go screa----screa----screamin’” where you can almost hear the scream of a saxophone holding a note and then quickly moving on in the ever-changing rhythms of the music.  Poetic devices are strong and well-placed.  Depression is personified in “Blue Creeps In” as it wraps its arms around the writer and they go for a walk together.  Onomatopoeia expresses the “thum, thum, thumming” of the bass and the “rat-a-tatting” of the drums.  “Stride” is a poem that thrives on strong, varying rhythms - “we got jiving in our bones / and it won’t leave us alone / we’re really moving” - followed by the repetition of two focus words in each line “jiving / bones” to break up the lines of the poem in the same way jazz music uses mellow background music to pause between the bold solos of individual instruments.

The many moods and styles of jazz are represented in the variety of poems herein.  The title poem “Jazz” references the beginnings of the music as a combination of rhythm and heart, expressing feelings of both triumph and despair, as the musicians play what they feel.  On a happier note, “Twenty-Finger Jack” is a lively, fast-moving account of a piano man who makes the keyboard jump and forces the listener’s feet to dance, pushing all troubles aside.  A slower, smoother “Jazz Vocal” elicits the nostalgic feelings of being in love, while “Blue Creeps In” depicts the depression and heartache of lost love.  Teamwork and unity are the theme of “Now I Come In” about a group of musicians playing together and sharing the spotlight, as each instrument plays a bold solo and then fades to the background to let another shine.

Illustrations by the author’s son, Christopher Myers, add to the experience with vibrant background colors and beautifully painted musicians, instruments, and dancers.  The book also includes a helpful glossary of jazz terms and a timeline of jazz history that will give the reader a deeper understanding of this amazing musical culture.   

Review Excerpts
"A mesmerizing verbal and visual riff on a uniquely American art form." --Publishers Weekly

"An absolutely airtight melding of words and pictures that is perfectly accessible to a younger audience." -- Booklist

Readers will find music coming irresistibly into their heads." --The Horn Book

Connections

• Read other books by Walter Dean Myer such as Blues Journey or Here In Harlem:  Poems in Many Voices
• Explore the different styles of jazz music represented in the book:  bebop, cool jazz, free jazz, hard bop, fusion, boogie, blues
• Include in a study on how the arrival of African people to the Americas positively influenced and enriched American culture.
• Use to enhance a study of jazz music and musicians

Awards and Honors

• Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award Honor Book
• American Library Association Notable Children’s Book
• Book Links Best New Book for the Classroom
• Booklist Editor’s Choice Selection
• Booklist Top 10 Black History Title for Youth
• Golden Kite Award for Picture Book Text (SCBWI)
• Hans Christian Andersen Award Honor List (Illustrator Honor)
• International Reading Association Notable Book for a Global Society
• Kirkus Reviews Editors Choice Award
• Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award
• National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Image Award for Outstanding Literacy Work in Poetry Nominee
• New York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing
• Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production (First)
• Parenting Magazine “Mom-Tested Book of the Year
• Publishers Weekly 100 Best Books of the Year