In Germany, Joachim E. Berendt was called the "jazz pope", and indeed he was the most influential non-musician in the German jazz scene for more than 50 years. He was founding member of South West German Radio (Südwestfunk) and produced more than 250 records, including many issued on the MPS-SABA label. In 1953, he first published The Jazzbuch, which became the most successful history book on jazz worldwide. His collection of records, books and jazz documents became the basis for the Jazzinstitut Darmstadt before he died in an accident in 2000. His contributions to jazz are internationally recognized to this day. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

This is a Taschen 25 - Special edition! 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 collector's 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.