Snap up anything you can by Gene Lees. I've read a few and would have to that fewer writers manage to get quite as close to the nub of jazz in the 50's and 60's at this writer. "Meet me at Jim and Andy's" is terrific and I also enjoyed the pen portraits in the book he wrote about arrangers. Sometimes he comes across a pretty conservative in his tastes and I didn't always agree with his perceptions, but his books are brilliant. It is a shame that he is not around to write lucidly about the contemporary scene although I suppose he had little enthusiasm for most post-60's stuff. The booksI read tended not to go much more adventurous than Kenny Wheeler and there are moments when he lauds some pretty commercial stuf like Robert Farnon which may be clever but it wasn't jazz so is of little interest. lees was one of th best writers regarding jazz and had the advantage of knowing most of his subjects - including 1920's legend Bill Challis!!
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