Jazz can be analyzed in at least two methods, linearly as the birthplace of so-called contemporary music and evolutionarily as music that has managed to remain essentially an art and to develop in incomparable ways. A series of unexplained phenomena take place between the jazz musician and the listener, which are mostly about the insatiable transmission of a mystery that is never definitively analyzed; the jazz critic and historian actually try to interpret this mystery or to comment. (from the back cover of the book) Eric Hobsbawm's (1917-2012) book was published by Macgibbon & Kee in 1959. It was translated in greek by Yiannis Livadas.