The Inaudible Music was the first book — and remains the only — to encompass jazz, gender and Australian modernity. With the global rise of what are referred to as the New Jazz Studies, it has become regarded as a pioneering benchmark study. First published in 2000.

'Jazz is arguably the most important form of popular music in the twentieth century. Personally, I have no doubt that it is. And this brilliant book has powerfully underlined that view.' — Eric Myers, former National Jazz Co-ordinator, JazzCord, 2000

Bruce Johnson is an academic, musician and author. His most recent work is Jazz Diaspora: Music and Globalisation (2020), and Ted Nettelbeck opened his review of this new book by stating: 'Professor Bruce Johnson is arguably Australia's foremost scholar of Australian jazz history.'