Part I: Basics of jazz. What is jazz? ; Appreciating jazz improvisation -- Part II: Premodern jazz. Origins of jazz ; Early jazz: combo jazz prior to the middle 1930s ; Swing: the early 1930s to the late 1940s ; Duke Ellington ; The Count Basie bands -- Part III: Modern jazz: the early 1940s to the early 1960s. Bop: the early 1940s to the early 1950s ; Cool jazz ; Hard Bop ; Miles Davis, his groups and sidemen ; John Coltrane -- Part IV: Modern jazz: the early 1960s to the present. 1960s and 1970s avant-garde and "free" jazz ; Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, and Keith Jarrett ; Jazz-rock fusion ; 1980 to the present ; Other voices -- Appendices. Appendix A. Brief outline of jazz styles ; Appendix B. Elements of music ; Appendix C. Strategies for buying recorded music ; Appendix D. A small basic collection of jazz videos ; Appendix E. Glossary ; Appendix F. Supplementary reading ; Appendix G. Sources for solo transcriptions ; Appendix H. For musicians.