The Birth of the Detroit Sound: 1940-1964 (MI) (Images of America)

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

detroit without jazz?, 2007-02-16
I was surprised not see any mention of jazz in throughout this book. Many of the early rock musicians mentioned were actually jazz musicians playing rock and roll to make a quick buck. Even though Motown (which oddly isn't mentioned much either) was the predominating popular music of the 60s, the hard bop jazz scene of the 1950s is what fueled many of the rhythm sections who created the "motown" sound. There is such a photograph resource of the history of 1940s-60s jazz in Detroit, that I'm surprised that almost none of it was presented in this book. Some of the rock and roll musicians that were given the spotlight had little or no effect on Detroit and its music scene. Many were the equivilant of today's garage bands. In the 1950s, Detroit was one of the most respected cities in the world in terms of its jazz musicians and high caliber of musicianship. It's too bad that none of that is covered whatsover. I'm not asking for a book exclusively on jazz, but 3 or 4 pictures out of 130 pages? This book is not a good representation of the Detroit music scene of that era.