The Sound That Jazz Makes

A brief history of African American music told in rhyme and dramatically rendered oils. Weatherford tells her story in rhymed couplets, perhaps an unfortunate choice to render so vibrant an art form. The rhymes tend to be clunky: tree / ebony; whines / hard times; rocked / flock; as they move from music sprung from the sounds of nature in Africa—the drum and the kalimba—to slave ships and auctions, and people singing of freedom in the fields. The blues, the cakewalk, gospel and swing take us to Duke and Calloway, and finally to rap and hip-hop. Velasquez's oils have a flair for the sweeping gesture or crucial moment: a family running to freedom raise their eyes to the night sky for guidance; a grizzled banjo player and a blues man are seen lit from below; paintings of Lady Day, Ella Fitzgerald and other greats are based on well-known photographs. There are numerous picture books for young people that cover this territory with more energy and delight; most notably i see the rhythm (1998). (Picture book. 5-8)