In the book How to Listen to Jazz, award-winning composer Ted Gioia offers a lively and accessible introduction to the art of listening to jazz. Covering everything from the structure and history of music to the basic elements of improvisation, Gioia shows exactly what to listen for in a jazz performance. How can the lay listener learn to understand and appreciate the subtle nuances between the unapologetic and innovative sounds of Louis Armstrong, the complex saxophone technique of Coleman Hawkins, and the exotic and enchanting compositions of Duke Ellington? How does Thelonious Monk stand alongside Benny Goodman and John Coltrane? He shares listening strategies that will help readers understand and appreciate this great American art for a lifetime, while also providing a history of the main movements of jazz up to the present day. It concludes with a guide to 150 elite musicians who set the tone for 21st-century jazz. It is a book that combines appreciation and introduction to jazz from a leading expert and is essential for anyone who has ever wanted to understand America's greatest contribution to the world of music.