Following on from Giant Steps comes the second installment in Kenny Mathieson's series of jazz histories
Cookin' examines the birth and development of two of the key jazz styles of the postwar era, hard bop and its related offshoot, soul jazz. Hard bop was the most exciting jazz style of its day, and remains at the core of the modern jazz mainstream even now. It drew on the twin poles of bebop and the blues for its foundation, spiced up with gospel, Latin, and rhythm and blues influences. The book looks at the founding fathers of the form, Art Blakey and Horace Silver, and goes on to trace the music through its peak decade. The second installment of Kenny Mathieson's series of jazz histories provides a fine overview of one of the most exciting periods in the music's development and features profiles of Cannonball Adderley, Donald Byrd, Lou Donaldson, Grant Green, and J.J. Johnson, among others.