Leonard Feather's Encyclopedia of Jazz, first published in the 1950s, has long been recognized as the definitive reference book on the subject. Subsequent supplements published in the 1960s and 1970s reinforced its importance, and it has been termed an `enduring reference work' and `indispensable to a knowledge of jazz, its history, its performers and its goals.' The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz is a thorough expansion and updating of Feather's book. Focusing exclusively on biographies, it contains portraits of 3,300 jazz figures and includes extensive coverage of players in Europe, Japan, Africa, and Australia, as well as the United States, Canada, and Latin America. Each biographical entry contains basic information about the jazz player involved, including details of which bands or groups the artist played with, major recordings, and chief jazz influences. This is the thorough, authoritative, up-to-date book of jazz biographies that the jazz world has long needed.