Blue Note Records: The Biography

Blue Note Records is the first full history of the most noted label in jazz. Cook lingers with record-collector zeal in analyzing everything from Sidney Bechet's 78s to Norah Jones' recent chart-topper. Insightful scenes abound.

The New York Times

Richard Cook, the editor of Jazz Review, is a keen and perceptive listener whose musical descriptions are generally vivid, challenging and witty. He studs each chapter with history -- usually solid when musicological, shakier when not. The recordings, however, are his passion -- the music, the engineering, the photos, the album covers. — Gene Santoro