[Out of Nowhere - the musical life of Warne Marsh]

The second printing of this extremely well received fictional 'autobiography' of Warne Marsh will be available shortly (scheduled release date is late April 2008).

The book has been described as perhaps the best book ever written on the creative life of a musician, and essential reading for anyone interested in music, especially jazz perhaps. Of course it is valuable for those who wish to learn more about how Warne Marsh developed as a musician, teacher and friend. The way the book is written will appeal to anyone who enjoys a good read. Several readers have commented that as soon as they had finished the book, they started over again. There aren't many books like that.

The place to go for information is http://auroranovapublishing.net

Any suggestions about how to make sure this book reaches the widest possible audience would be warmly received.

Marcus Cornelius

[OUT OF NOWHERE -The Musical Life of Warne Marsh]

Dear JSngry,

I realise your post is a little old but I am the author of the book you read (Out of Nowhere) and I wanted to let the jazz community (and all music lovers everywhere) that the book is being reprinted in April 2008.

I have two questions: can I use your comments in publicity material for the reprint? and where would you advise I post an announcement about the reprint? I am new to the forums and haven't yet found my way around.

Kind regards

Marcus Cornelius

Just finished reading this fascinating, compelling, and, at times, deeply moving work by Marcus M. Cornelius, and I don't know what to say (or think).

What Mr. Cornelius has apparently done is to combine historical research with the impressions of many of Warne's accquaintances over the years, and combined them into a mix of biography and novel. It's not quite like any other "jazz book" I've ever read, and I mean that in a wholly positive way.

Although there are many "literary devices" on display throughout the book, many times blatantly so, the amazing thing is that with only one or two exceptions, I never lose the illusion that this is actually Warne Marsh speaking, telling his life's story "from beyond", and entirely in his own voice.

This is a risky assumption to make, because I never knew Warne Marsh. NEver even got to see him perform, But I know his music intimately, and to the extent that anybody can ever "know" anybody through thier music, I feel as if I "know" Warne Marsh. And I tell you - the Warne Marsh that Mr. Cornelius crafts in this novel is very, very much like the Warne Marsh I "know".

From the recounting of his ancestry, to the detatched ambivalence of his childhood, to the variuos reasons why he did or did not do certain things in his life (personal and career-related), very little rings false when placed up against waht I know about Warne through his music, his "real" biography, and the comments others have made about him through the years. The author really seems to have captured the "voice" of his subject.

But I don't know if he has, or if he just wrote a really good piece of fiction. I'd be interested in hearing opinions from those who would know better than I. But either way, it's a damn good book.