Louis Armstrong was the greatest jazz musician of the twentieth century and a giant of modern American culture. He knocked the Beatles off the top of the charts, wrote the finest of all jazz autobiographies - without a collaborator - and created collages that have been compared to the art of Romare Bearden. The ranks of his admirers included Johnny Cash, Jackson Pollock and Orson Welles. Offstage he was witty, introspective and unexpectedly complex, a beloved colleague with an explosive temper whose larger-than-life personality was tougher and more sharp-edged than his worshipping fans ever kn... View More...
Drawing on many accounts, this work tells the rags-to-riches tale of Louis Armstrong's early life and the social and musical forces that shaped him. A tale of a musician, his city and the origins of jazz, it interweaves an account of early 20th-century New Orleans with a narrative of the first 21 years of Armstrong's life. View More...
Count Basie (1904-1984) was one of America's pre-eminent jazz pianists, bandleaders, and composers. With the charm, dry humor, and inexorable logic of phrasing that were his alone, Good Morning Blues stands as both testimony and tribute to a remarkably rich life. View More...
Pepper Adams' Joy Road is more than a compendium of sessions and gigs done by the greatest baritone saxophone soloist in history. It's a fascinating overview of Adams' life and times, thanks to colorful interview vignettes, drawn from the author's unpublished conversations with Adams and other musicians. These candid observations from jazz greats about Adams and his colleagues reveal previously unknown, behind-the-scenes drama about legendary recordings made by John Coltrane, Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Pearson, Thad Jones, David Amram, Elvin Jones, and many others. ... View More...
The Miles Davis Companion draws on profiles, interviews, liner notes and original reviews of recordings to give a picture of Davis's work. View More...
Critical biographies cover the legends of the genre as well as today's hottest young players. Included are nearly 3,000 recommendations of recordings. View More...
One of the Best Books of the Year: NPR, GQ, Billboard, JazzTimes In jazz parlance, "playing changes" refers to an improviser's resourceful path through a chord progression. In this definitive guide to the jazz of our time, leading critic Nate Chinen boldly expands on that idea, taking us through the key changes, concepts, events, and people that have shaped jazz since the turn of the century--from Wayne Shorter and Henry Threadgill to Kamasi Washington and Esperanza Spalding; from the phrase "America's classical music" to an explosion of new ideas and approaches; from claims of jazz's demise t... View More...
One of jazz's leading critics gives us an invigorating, richly detailed portrait of the artists and events that have shaped the music of our time. Grounded in authority and brimming with style, Playing Changes is the first book to take the measure of this exhilarating moment: it is a compelling argument for the resiliency of the art form and a rejoinder to any claims about its calcification or demise. "Playing changes," in jazz parlance, has long referred to an improviser's resourceful path through a chord progression. Playing Changes boldly expands on the idea, highlighting a host of signific... View More...
John Coltrane (1926-1967) was one of the most innovative forces in African- American music. By experimenting with new concepts of time, integrating Eastern philosophies into Western music, and exploring multiphonics and other new sounds on his saxophone, he opened avenues of expression that influenced musicians and composers from jazz to rock to avant-garde.Bill Cole focuses on two aspects of John Coltrane in this provocative study: Coltrane the musician and Coltrane the religious person. Deeply interrelated, both aspects are bound up with Coltrane's identification as an African- American. Col... View More...
Here is the whole story of the history and the personalities that have formed this century's most exciting music, a story rich with innovation, experimentation, controversy, and emotion.Beginning at the turn of the century, The Chronicle of Jazz charts the evolution of jazz from its roots in Africa and the southern United States to the myriad styles heard around the world today. The book looks closely at how jazz has influenced -- and been influenced by -- other musical and artistic forms. Each chronologically arranged section contains special features on topics ranging from the individual qua... View More...
Singing Jazz looks at the ups and downs of this tough profession through the eyes of legendary jazz singers, well-established performers, and some newcomers. Drawing on accounts from vocalists of yesterday and today in all major jazz styles, the book explores the musical influences of jazz singing; the learning process, whether on the road or in training; the challenges of building a repertoire, getting gigs, traveling, and performing under sometimes difficult circumstances; and the ongoing struggle for artistic recognition and financial security in the competitive world of popular music. To r... View More...
Blues history is steeped in Chicago's sidewalks; it floats out of its restaurants, airport lounges and department stores. It is a fundamental part of the city's heritage that every resident should know and every visitor should be afraid to miss. Allow Ros View More...
