Which jazz book are you reading right now?

[Big Beat Steve]

But for a non-musician the sections that go BEYOND the biography and the purely disocogrpahical details are a TOUGH read.

[Gheorghe]

9 minutes ago, Big Beat Steve said:

But for a non-musician the sections that go BEYOND the biography and the purely disocogrpahical details are a TOUGH read.

Yes, I can imagine that.

I can´t say about me that I´m "a musician" since I don´t earn a living out of music, but I´ve been playing for 40 years and was glad to find a book that´s also interesting from the musician´s point of view. It´s very interesting to read which songs and melodies Fats quotes in his soloes, since some of them are very significant and you think you might know what it is, but don´t. So the authors really made a good job doing such a complete analysis of Fat´s solos.

[Gheorghe]

I just have finished the book about Sun Ra "Space is the Place".

[BillF]

A wonderful read. The chapter on Pee Wee Marquette is priceless!

Edited 18 Jan 2019 by BillF

[Gheorghe]

1 hour ago, BillF said:

A wonderfu read. The chapter on Pee Wee Marquette is priceless!

Oh, I didn´t know about that book, I think this is something I need to have.

[paul secor]

3 hours ago, BillF said:

A wonderfu read. The chapter on Pee Wee Marquette is priceless!

 Great stories.

[jazztrain]

 

 

[HutchFan]

I'm about half way through this book:

Ascension: John Coltrane and His Quest
by Eric Nisenson 

Really enjoy this one. ... Thank you again to felser, who had an extra copy of this book and was kind enough to give it to me.  

[sgcim]

I just finished this one, as i mentioned in the thread on Perry's death, and it's a great read. PR was on the scene in the 50s at The Lennox School of jazz, and has some cool stories about Giuffre, Bill Evans and, Ornette (his quotes of Ornette's description of his method of composition are hilarious).

Just the story about jumping up and down on Tony Scott's stomach as TS played, should give you an idea of the type of stories PR tells about his life.

[Big Beat Steve]

Pulled out this one again and am reading it piecemeal once more.

Some of it is rather dated (even by nostalgia standards), some (a lot in fact) is a priceless image of that era.

 

BTW, @jazztrain: Thanks for bringing up that Bluegrass book. That looks rather interesting for a friend of mine (a keen old-style country music collector and musician).

 

[jeffcrom]

5 hours ago, Big Beat Steve said:

Pulled out this one again and am reading it piecemeal once more.

Some of it is rather dated (even by nostalgia standards), some (a lot in fact) is a priceless image of that era.

 

BTW, @jazztrain: Thanks for bringing up that Bluegrass book. That looks rather interesting for a friend of mine (a keen old-style country music collector and musician).

 

When I was a teenager getting into jazz, my mother got me that book for Christmas. It's a hoot. My favorite aspect is that before publication, Simon sent his band reviews to those bandleaders who were still living, and printed their responses beside the original reviews. Those comments range from, "Yeah, you were right" to indignant rebuttals.

[Gheorghe]

Dave Liebman "What it is"

Edited 19 Dec 2019 by Gheorghe

[gmonahan]

Enjoying this one: 

 

[Big Beat Steve]

2 minutes ago, gmonahan said:

Enjoying this one: 

 

My (UK) printing is from 1962 but it must be the same book, considering the co-author credits. I pull it out every few years for some distracting reading moments. A great read indeed. Actually it may not be a bad choice for the season's days at this time of the year. Thanks for the reminder ...

BTW, this one (below) would be a good (pictorial and textual) companion for your read:

 

 

[gmonahan]

Just now, Big Beat Steve said:

My (UK) printing is from 1962 but it must be the same book, considering the co-author credits. I pull it out every few years for some distracting reading moments. A great read indeed. Actually it may not be a bad choice for the season's days at this time of the year. Thanks for the reminder ...

BTW, this one (below) would be a good (pictorial and textual) companion for your read:

 

 

Ah, Steve, great minds.... I have that one beside my bed right now and am indeed reading through it as I read "We Called it Music"! Also listening to the very fine Davies-mastered 4-cd Condon set on JSP!

 

 

gregmo

[Big Beat Steve]

Did you smile as much as I did at that photo of "Pee Wee trying to drink his wallet"?

[BillF]

I read somewhere that the U S military's demands for manpower became so desperate during the Second World War that Condon declared, "They'll be sending for Pay Way next!"

[mjazzg]

Just starting Simon Spillet's 'The Long Shadow of the Little Giant'. Accompanying my deep delve into the Fontana box set

[felser]

[gmonahan]

On 12/19/2019 at 11:32 AM, Big Beat Steve said:

Did you smile as much as I did at that photo of "Pee Wee trying to drink his wallet"?

Oh yeah. There are a lot of great snappy lines like that. Condon was a witty guy. And he really loved Pee Wee.

[Big Beat Steve]

1 hour ago, gmonahan said:

Oh yeah. There are a lot of great snappy lines like that. Condon was a witty guy. And he really loved Pee Wee.

BTW, re- the sixth PHOTOGRAPH page of the "Park Lane and Ryan's" chapter, do you agre that the trumpeter in the two band photographs is Max Kaminsky and not Bobby Hackett?

[BillF]

On 12/19/2019 at 9:13 PM, mjazzg said:

Just starting Simon Spillet's 'The Long Shadow of the Little Giant'. Accompanying my deep delve into the Fontana box set

A great read! 

[gmonahan]

On 12/20/2019 at 1:35 PM, Big Beat Steve said:

BTW, re- the sixth PHOTOGRAPH page of the "Park Lane and Ryan's" chapter, do you agre that the trumpeter in the two band photographs is Max Kaminsky and not Bobby Hackett?

I took a long look, and I think you're right, Steve. It looks more like Max than Bobby.

 

[Peter Friedman]

On 10/3/2018 at 0:40 PM, BeBop said:

I've got the original circa 1960 version (back in the United States).  Has this been re-issued?  It would be nice if it was.

 

On 10/3/2018 at 11:18 AM, Larry Kart said:

The late Michael James' "Ten Modern Jazzmen" is a must read. Not that I agree with everything James says, nor am I in sync with the sometimes presumptuous manner in which says what he says, but it's a book that probably will stimulate your thinking as few books on jazz do -- it certainly has mine.

I read this long long ago when it was first available. Michael James who wrote for the "late" British periodical Jazz Monthly, was one of my very favorite writers on jazz. That was probably because my taste in jazz was very much in sync with his taste.

It is probably the same reason why Ira Gitler and Mark Gardner have been among my very favorite jazz writers.

[sidewinder]

Michael James was also a stellar contributor to one of my favourite books - ‘Modern Jazz - The Essential Records’ (1975) as well as to Jazz Journal.