I wholeheartedly agree ... 

IIRC (and I often don't) The Song of the Hawk can almost be used as a discography as he discusses every major recording session.

Three votes already for "Wishing on the Moon" by Donald Clarke - that seals it for now: I've started on this Billie Holiday biography (her genealogy described in the first chapter is confusing, to say the least!).  Anyway ... opinions on the other books shown in my starting post remain welcome.  In particular, another question to those who know: How does the Stan Kention "Artistry In Rhythm" bio by William F. Lee compare to other biographies written on "Stan The Man"? This is a subject I find quite tempting and I was glad to get that book, but leafing through the pages in the chapters of his final years left me a bit puzzled. At times they read like a scrapbook collection of newspaper articles on him which seem somewhat repetitive at first glance - as if geared towards the diehard fan completist. Strange ...

❤️ 👍