Ted Gioia is a pianist, critic, scholar, historian, and educator. He is the author of 11 books, including The History of Jazz (OUP, 2011) and Delta Blues--both honored by the New York Times on their list of 100 notable books of the year. Each of his three books on the social history of music--Work Songs, Healing Songs, and Love Songs (OUP, 2015)--has been honored with the ASCAP Deems Taylor Award. Gioia holds degrees from Oxford University and Stanford's Graduate School of Business, and previously served on the faculty of Stanford University. Praised as one of the leading music historians of our day, Gioia is a preeminent guide to the songs of the past, present, and future.
""Possibly the best survey to date."" -- Ann Douglas, New York Times ""If you are looking for an introduction to jazz, this is it. If you know and love jazz well, this is your vade mecum. Me, I expect to be reading around in it for the rest of my life...[It is] the definitive work: encyclopedic, discriminating, provocative, perceptive and eminently readable. With its publication, it can no longer be said that the literature of jazz falls far short of the music itself."" -- Jonathan Yardley , Washington Post ""Gioia's history stands a good chance of becoming the standard guide for general readers and academics."" -- Greg Tate, The Village Voice