Jazz in the 1970s (to a slight degree)
I'm currently reading Bill Shoemaker's Jazz in the 1970s: Diverging Streams (2018, Rowman & Littlefield) and learning a great deal about a handful of subjects. Despite its reputation as a low point in jazz' development, much happened in the music during the decade: the rise of fusion and smooth jazz, Miles' electric phase and long absence, the return of Dexter Gordon, on and on. Since much of that has been covered in other books, Shoemaker keeps a narrower scope, mostly tou ching upon Europeans and the avant-garde. Whether it's too narrow a scope is a matter of personal taste, but I like his approach well enough. Each chapter represents one year of the decade and focuses upon one musician or event of significance during that year. Again, this excludes a great deal of what came about in the 70s, but it offers Shoemaker the chance to dig more deeply into these few subjects. The breakdown is as follows: 1970: Chris McGregor and the confluence of B