Scott Deveaux and Gary Giddins' Jazz: Essential Listening is a must-have reference work on this history and analysis of the glories of Jazz. It presents an in depth history of the music with social and musical analysis, covering its roots to the present. Chapters include "Jazz Form and Improvisation," "Louis Armstrong and the First Great Soloists," "Jazz Composition in the 1950s," and "Historicism: Jazz on Jazz." At almost 500 pages, it provides an exceptional overview of Jazz and its key exponents. W.W. Norton and Co., 2010.