Shameless Fraternal Promotion

If you love jazz, poetry, fine art and/or great design, have I got a book for you. The fact that my brother, Paul Rogers, is the illustrator has little to do with this recommendation. (Uh-huh.)

A collaboration between Paul and jazz virtuoso Wynton Marsalis, Jazz ABZ : An A to Z Collection of Jazz Portraits is a unique alphabetical journey through jazz in pictures and poetry. Inspired by Paul's vivid images, Marsalis wrote poems in forms that expressed the character, music and rhythms of each jazz great. The combination of art and text is sparkling, made more lively by the book design of Paul's wife, Jill von Hartmann. And like DVD extras, the book includes capsule bios of each jazz maestro penned by jazz guru Phil Schaap, explanations of the poetic forms and even a recommended discography.

But don't leave it to this (biased) reviewer. Check these out:

• A great NPR interview with Marsalis, including excerpts from the book. The page includes four poems, images and additional readings.


• Steven Heller's review in the New York Times.


• And a sneak peek at many of the images.

One more thing: Don't let the "children's book" categorization fool you. This is a book for all ages.