Although the primary focus of the book is on the various discourses that have served to frame aspects of the development and practice of jazz, it is something of an axiomatic truism to observe that the music came first. Reading the book without listening to the wide range of musical examples referenced in the text would therefore be a rather partial undertaking. With that in mind, and with the aim of making the listening experience as simple and pleasurable as possible, extensive online Playlists are available for each chapter.

Based on the streaming service Spotify, the Playlists contain the vast majority of the music mentioned in the book, listed in the order it appears in the text – over 550 tracks. You can access the Playlists in two ways: by clicking on the individual chapter links below, which will take you to the Spotify site, with greater functionality as well as album information and cover art; or by scrolling down to the embedded Playlists, which offer a more minimalist format but make all the tracks available on this page. Spotify membership is required, although a free membership is available by signing up with an email address or via Facebook or Google. Click on any of the album cover images on this page to see them in their full 500-pixel glory.

In addition to these links, the Rhythm Changes Playlists 2 page includes links for over 100 musical examples not available on Spotify, plus access to clips from a number of movies that are cited in the book.