Product Description: More than any other musician, Herbie Mann was responsible for establishing the flute as an accepted jazz instrument. Prior to his arrival, the flute was a secondary instrument for saxophonists, but Mann found a unique voice for the flute, presenting it in different musical contexts, beginning with Afro-Cuban, and then continuing with music from Brazil, the Middle East, the Caribbean, Japan, and Eastern Europe...read more

Product Description: Terry Gibbs, legendary jazz vibraphonist and bandleader, was 12 years old when he kicked off his career as a professional musician, winning first place in an amateur performance. Born and raised in the heart of Brooklyn and possessing tremendous musical talent, Gibbs learned the ins and outs of bebop from pioneers like Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, and Bud Powell...read more

Product Description: The result of years of research by its authors, this discography strives to identify and trace the recorded development of the musical style now known as western swing from its early years through World War II. The style developed from the Texas string band tradition, growing from a fiddle and guitar duo into full swing band groups, and along the way, it drew from and absorbed a variety of other musical styles, thus making it one of the most diverse genres in American music...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

Product Description: Through its Decca 5000 series of the 1930s and 1940s, the American Decca recording company became the most influential record label in the burgeoning hillbilly music category, the forerunner of today's country and western music. This unique discography provides for the first time in print a systematic numerical listing and cross-referencing of all released recordings in the 5000 and 17000 Cajun series as well as records released under Decca's Champion 45000 and Montgomery Ward series, also devoted to hillbilly music...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)