Penguin Jazz Guides - different editions

I'm the sort of person when browsing the jazz section in bookshops (and i the UK you have to be  lucky to find such sections - so more often the music section), if any book claims to be a "history" I check the index for Allan Holdsworth, Mahavishnu Orchestra (and finally  one to really test such a book ) Soft Machine. The edition of Penguin Guide I purchased some 15 years ago, had two out of three as entries - but found subsequent editions to have John McLaughlin and that's about all, when came to jazz rock fusion entires. Clearly a fat tome can include a large number of artists and their recordings, but is not going to be complete. But it does beg one question, should there be a  guide to essential recordings provided in such guides. However, with music labelled 'jazz' being played and  available  on record in such a broad range of styles, would a 'jazz virgin' exposed to a recommended  and 'essential piece' of free  jazz be turned off for life (e.g. the little I've heard of Cecil Taylor has left me cold)?

Matt wrote: The poor bastards at Penguin trying to keep us "know alls" happy. Impossible, somebody here will always find warts  I saw a Bear Family mistake recently. Missed a couple of Frankie Laine's numbers in their "I Believe" set. I don't read the Penguins. Like Sean when I saw it ,did not like it due to missing stuff. Had a brief look at one years ago and so went for the Rough Guide but now that is incomplete for me  but still a pretty good book as most of theirs are. The Reggae one is superb. Steve Barrow was involved. The World Music ( African) one is not bad either   There is not one good book out there on Afro Cuban, esp sixties and seventies. You would have thought that someone would have done one on Fania and all the subsidary Latin labels that were around then.

I remember when I first started researching jazz after discovering it years ago,  those penguin guides were useless to me, because they would leave out mandatory classics because they were out of print, I never understood that philosophy they had.

darkprinceofjazz wrote: Sean Trane wrote: A buddy of mine loaned me the third edition.... and it's obvious that the writers are really anti JR/F music too.   I know, though they do seem to give some respect to Miles and His Electric Music, One thing about Penguin I kind of liked, I thought they did seem to be partial to Avant Garde jazz at least, I feel they understand it at least. I didn't get the last edition, I read a lot of complaints about the the format changing, and it being sort of a best of book, not as in depth as earlier editions. and considering that was a complaint any way for me,  it must really be lacking now.

A buddy of mine loaned me the third edition.... and it's obvious that the writers are really anti JR/F music too.

^ that may be, I used to own some Penguin guides but I haven't seen them in a while,  (its easy for books to get lost amongst the other books here), and I don't recall much about the content.