Joachim-Ernst Berendt

Scientists have only recently learned that the particles of an oxygen atom vibrate in a major key and that blades of grass ‘sing.” Europe’s foremost jazz producer takes the reader on an exhilarating journey through Asia, Europe, Africa, and Latin America, exploring the musical traditions of diverse cultures and reaffirming what the ancients have always known--the world is sound, rhythm, and vibration. Berendt’s book is alive with his experiences--living in Bali, studying at a Zen monastery in Kyoto, and encountering budding jazz stars in Indonesia, Japan, Europe, and the United States. Drawing from his friendships with composers and performers as well as his knowledge of new physics and Tantra, cybernetics, Sufism, and the works of Hermann Hesse, he reveals the importance of sound in shaping cultural and spiritual life worldwide. A tribute to the work of many of the greatest figures of our age--including Hans Kayser, Jean Gebser, Sufi Hazrat lnayat Khan, musicians John Coltrane and Ravi Shankar--Berendt’s book suggests that hearing, rather than seeing, is the key to a more spiritual experience of consciousness. His discussion of sound in relation to mathematics, logic, sacred geometry, myth, and sexuality is practical as well as theoretical, offering readers a variety of techniques for developing the ear as an organ of spiritual perception.

The most comprehensive interpretive history of jazz available in one volume, this book contains a survey of the past and current styles, elements, instruments, musicians, singers, and big bands of jazz.

In 1960, photographer William Claxton and noted German musicologist Joachim Berendt traveled the United States hot on the trail of jazz music. The result of their collaboration was an amazing collection of photographs and recordings of legendary artists as well as unknown street musicians. The book Jazzlife, the original fruit of their labors, has become a collectors item that is highly treasured among jazz and photography fans. In 2003, TASCHEN began reassembling this important collection of material-along with many never-before-seen color images from those trips. They are brought together in this updated volume, which includes a foreword by William Claxton tracing his travels with Berendt and his love affair with jazz music in general. Jazz fans will be delighted to be able to take a jazz-trip through time, seeing the music as Claxton and Berendt originally experienced it. Featuring photographs of Charlie Parker, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Muddy Waters, Gabor Szabo, and more.

Excellent Book

Rare Book

A collection of Joachim E. Berendt's essays on Jazz

Tutti gli stili del dal Ragtime di fine Ottocento al New Orleans di inizio Novecento, dal Dixieland degli anni Dieci al Chicago degli anni Venti, dallo Swing degli anni Trenta al Bebop dei Quaranta, dal Cool e Hard Bop degli anni Cinquanta al Free Jazz dei Sessanta, per arrivare al Jazz Rock degli anni Settanta, fino alle significative riprese e alle interessanti contaminazioni degli ultimi decenni. I leggendari musicisti e cantanti del da Louis Armstrong a Bessie Smith, da Bix Beiderbecke a Duke Ellington, da Coleman Hawkins e Lester Young a Charlie Parker e Dizzy Gillespie, da Miles Davis a John Coltrane, da Omette Coleman a John McLaughlin. Tutti gli strumenti del dalla tromba al trombone, dal clarinetto ai sassofoni, dal flauto al vibrafono, dal pianoforte all'organo, dalle tastiere al sintetizzatore, dalla chitarra al contrabbasso, dal violino alla batteria e agli altri strumenti a percussione. Tutti gli elementi del dalla formazione del suono al fraseggio, dall'improvvisazione all'arrangiamento, dal blues allo spiritual e al gospel-song, dall'armonia alla melodia, dal ritmo allo swing. Sono gli argomenti di questo manuale, che introduce il lettore nei segreti di un mondo musicale fra i più appassionanti. Introduzione di Luca Cerchiari.

O jazz constitui um fenomeno cultural altamente estimulante como objeto de estudo, pois para o seu aparecimento contribuiram fatores sociais diversos em forte interacao com o dado psicologico. Os musicos mais significativos do jazz tem, por exemplo, sua propria historia confundida com a do jazz. Alem disso, o alto grau de tecnicidade e ao mesmo tempo de improvisacao exigidos por ele refletem simultaneamente sua vitalidade, sua penetracao popular, assim como sua riqueza estilistica. Esta, em cada uma de suas varias modalidades, como o dixieland, o chicago, o swing, o bebop, o cool jazz, o hard bop, o free jazz, expressa um momento bem definido da vida americana ou simplesmente de nossa epoca e se acha claramente detalhada no presente livro. E preciso nao esquecer ainda que todo o jazz vem da musica cantada, assim como todo o canto surge, no jazz, da musica instrumental. Tais fatores englobam, em um so universo sonoro, o homem, o instrumento e o meio ambiente, o que empresta ao jazz, na sua condicao de envento musical, um carater unico. Com esta publicacao, Joachim E. Berendt, autoridade, no assunto, empreende uma analise exaustiva do jazz e de sua evolucao. Completa o volume uma relacao de termos especificos e ainda uma discografia.[…]

Spiritual poetry by Rainer Maria Seelenlandschaften. Musik und Dichtung. Read by Joachim-Ernst Berendt. Music by Philip Catherine; Krzysztof Zgraja; and Vladislav Sendecki. Joachim-Ernst Berendt liest spirtuelle Poesi von Rainer Maria Rilke.

English, German (translation)