Jazz Stars

School Library Journal

Gr 5-8-Two collective biographies that offer succinct, journalistic sketches of outstanding jazz greats and athletes. In Book of Firsts, the contributions of Arthur Ashe, Chuck Cooper, Althea Gibson, Jack Johnson, Jesse Owens, Frank Robinson, Jackie Robinson, and Bill Russell are profiled, as well as their roles in widening the field of opportunity for black Americans. Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, John Coltrane, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Billie Holiday, and Charlie Parker are featured in Jazz Stars, with each performer's family life, early interest in music, and career development briefly recounted. For the most part the tone is objective, and there are candid descriptions of the drug problems faced by some of these individuals. Studs Terkel's Giants of Jazz (Crowell, 1992) is more interesting reading, though he does not limit his discussion to black Americans. In both of Rennert's titles, a stock black-and-white photo introduces each six-page ``bio.'' There are entire books available on many of these prominent African Americans; these easy-to-read accounts are additional, but not essential purchases.-Renee Steinberg, Fieldstone Middle School, Montvale, NJ