Twenty-five years after his death, Larkin's international reputation as a poet shows no signs of diminishing. In 2008, he gained first place in a poll of readers of The Times to choose the "50 greatest British writers since 1945". His writings and opinions on jazz have been as controversial as they have been astute. As is well-known, Charlie Parker and John Coltrane were his bêtes noirs, but Larkin's strictures against them - notably in his collected reviews All What Jazz - are not always to be taken too seriously. Larkin's Jazz, commissioned by the Philip Larkin Society, is part of the "Larkin 25" celebrations. Larkin wrote that: "Few things in life have given me more pleasure in life than listening to jazz." This collection offers fresh perspectives on both Larkin and the jazz he actually liked. There is no other compilation of "Larkin's Jazz" on the market. A majority of the devotees of Larkin's poetry do not share his passion for jazz. But they have never had the opportunity to listen to a representative sampling of the records that were one of the great artistic experiences of his life. "Philip Larkin's Jazz: A Celebration" offers them the opportunity to discover what they have missed or ignored. Trevor Tolley and John White offer informed and "personal" reflections on Larkin and the music that he loved. Both have written extensively on Larkin and jazz.
