About this site

Jazz Books Reviews has existed in some form since 2012. The original site was, frankly, a catalog — hundreds of books with descriptions pulled from Amazon. In 2026 I relaunched it as the opposite: fewer books, real reviews, each one grounded in actually studying the material.

Who I am

I'm Tomáš Jochmann, a jazz pianist based in Prague, Czech Republic. I perform with my own projects (including my Latin Jazz Quartet), teach jazz piano, and I'm the founder of Earonman, a gamified ear training app with a curriculum that runs from basic intervals to jazz voicings.

How I review

• I only sign reviews of books I've read or studied. Every review carries an explicit marker: studied (I've practiced from it),read (cover to cover), or reference (I use it to look things up).
• Every review names weaknesses and says who shouldnot buy the book. A method book that's great for a conservatory student can be a terrible first book — that context is the whole point.
• Every review includes a practice plan. Knowing a book is good is useless without knowing how to work through it.
• Ratings are comparative. A 4.0 here means "among the best in its category," not "I liked it."

How this site is funded (full disclosure)

Two ways, both disclosed everywhere they appear:

• Earonman is my own product. Reviews link book concepts to ear training exercises in Earonman. I built it because no book — including the great ones — can check whether you actually hear what you just read. The app has a free tier; nothing on this site requires buying anything.
• Some Amazon links are affiliate links. If you buy through them, Amazon pays this site a small commission at no cost to you. This never affects ratings — most books reviewed here I'd recommend borrowing from a library first anyway.

Contact

Suggestions for books to review, corrections, or publisher inquiries: reach me via Earonman support.