Books
11/15/13 By Matt R. Lohr
Learning to Listen: The Jazz Journey of Gary Burton
In his introduction to Learning to Listen , master vibraphonist Gary Burton offers readers the choice of absorbing his story as either that of “a gay jazz musician or … a jazz-playing gay man, whichever you prefer.” This declaration might potentially put...
11/05/13 By Bill Beuttler
Kansas City Lightning: The Rise and TImes of Charlie Parker
Stanley Crouch’s much-anticipated biography of Charlie Parker is finally here. Or rather, the first of two scheduled volumes has arrived, this installment bringing Bird from his Kansas City roots to the cusp of stardom and the creation of bebop in New York...
10/25/13 By Matt R. Lohr
The Baroness: The Search for Nica, the Rebellious Rothschild
In 2011, David Kastin released the award-winning Nica’s Dream , a jazz journalist’s take on the life of Pannonica de Koenigswarter, the European baroness who gave up home, husband and children to devote herself to jazz. Now, providing another side of the...
08/23/13 By Lee Mergner
Walk Tall:The Music & Life Of Julian “Cannonball” Adderley
The saxophonist and bandleader Cannonball Adderley was not only an important and influential figure in the evolution of postbop and soul jazz, he was also by most accounts a man with a message and a personality who was generally beloved by his fellow musicians...
07/23/13 By Ted Panken
The Amazing Bud Powell: Black Genius, Jazz History, and the Challenge of Bebop
In his introduction to The Amazing Bud Powell: Black Genius, Jazz History, and the Challenge of Bebop , Guthrie P. Ramsey Jr. states that it is not his intention to present “an exhaustive biography” of the immortal pianist-composer, but rather “[to put...
05/27/13 By Matt R. Lohr
Dameronia: The Life and Music of Tadd Dameron
Paul Combs set himself a considerable challenge in Dameronia , his new biography of arguably the most influential composer and arranger of the bebop era. By Combs’ own admission, the record of Tadd Dameron’s personal history is a sketchy one. Dameron was...
05/17/13 By Lee Mergner
World on a String: A Musical Memoir
Guitarist, singer and radio personality John Pizzarelli, 52, is one of the most entertaining and engaging performers on today’s jazz scene. In his new book, co-written with longtime collaborator Joseph Cosgriff, he recounts his life in music, and that life...
02/27/13 By Tom Reney
'Dameronia': A New Bio Sheds Light on a Sadly Forgotten Figure
The legacy of pianist/composer Tadd Dameron is finally recognized
02/15/13 By Matt R. Lohr
Why Jazz Happened
Although Marc Myers begins Why Jazz Happened with an account of the first jazz recording (by the Original Dixieland Jass Band, in 1917), his book is not a comprehensive history of the music. Rather, this study focuses on a 30-year stretch, 1942 to 1972...
02/12/13 By Lee Mergner
Book Review: Shall We Play That One Together?
Lee Mergner reviews Paul De Barros' biography of Marian McPartland