The jazz decade saw the emergence of many of the great figures who defined the music for the world: Louis Armstrong, Bessie Smith, Earl Hines, Bix Beiderbecke, Fats Waller, Jack Teagarden, Fletcher Hendersonthese giants set the standards for blues singing, big band arrangements, and solo improvisation that are the foundations for jazz. Richard Hadlock has chapters on each, with a discography and descriptions of all the players who made the '20s swing.
Richard Hadlockhas written jazz criticism forDownbeat,theJazz Review, Jazz Quarterly, Metronome,as well as theNew York TimesandSan Francisco Examiner.He hosts one of the longest running jazz radio shows, The Annals of Jazz, on station KCSM in San Mateo, California. He lives in Berkley where he is an active musician.