Joe

Yep, almost certainly a distribution issue. In my experience, few readers in the US understand just how outsized a role the distributors play in regulating ("throttling" may be the more appropriate term) their access to titles from small and independent presses (including university presses). Best to buy direct or use a vendor like Bookshop or Asterism. In any event - yeah, can't wait to read this one!

The hardback version is most likely to be purchased by libraries, which helps explain the pricing. Also, this is just how many academic presses operate. Looks like this will also be available as an ebook. Finally, you can also preorder via Bookshop (in case you don't want to give your $ to Amazon). https://bookshop.org/p/books/whistle-stop-kenny-dorham-jazz-and-the-journey-of-a-texas-family/548472d7f36a72cf?ean=9781496861955&next=t

Forthcoming from the University Press of Mississippi. Whistle Stop traces the remarkable life of trumpeter and composer Kenny Dorham (1924–1972), whose journey from rural Texas to the forefront of modern jazz mirrors the broader story of Black resilience and creativity in twentieth-century America. Dorham was born in Freestone County to a sharecropping family whose roots stretch back to Reconstruction, when his great-grandfather owned and farmed land in East Texas. Raised there and in segregated East Austin, Dorham found his voice on the trumpet at Anderson High School, and after brief stops at Wiley College and in the army, he landed in New York just as bebop was transforming American music. Dorham quickly became a cornerstone of that transformation. From performing with Charlie Parker, Art Blakey, and Max Roach to mentoring younger talents like Joe Henderson, he played a defining role in shaping modern jazz. A gifted composer, collaborator, and teacher, Dorham also helped lay the foundation for formal jazz education. Yet despite his immense contributions and the respect given him by other musicians, he remained underrecognized by critics—even as he continued to influence the musical generations that followed him. Drawing on interviews, archival research, and family history, Whistle Stop offers a vivid portrait not only of a jazz innovator, but of a Texas family whose story stretches across emancipation, migration, segregation, and cultural transformation. More than fifty years after his passing, Kenny Dorham’s music and legacy continue to inspire—his whistle stop in jazz history still echoing. https://www.upress.state.ms.us/Books/W/Whistle-Stop

The band in featured in the video above, BTW. Randy Brecker, Freddie Hubbard, trumpet; Joe Farrell, flute, tenor sax; Michael Brecker, Joe Henderson, tenor sax; George Duke, keyboards; Robben Ford, electric guitar; Alphonso Johnson, electric bass; Peter Erskine, drums. Apparently to be heard on Jazz Of The 80's (Eastworld, EWJ-80190)

I'm convinced.

Not rock, but not pop, and not jazz, although there's some free improv playing around the edges of these unconventional songs. Reminds me a bit of the first Akron/Family record (now 20+ years old), on which Bhob Rainey and Greg Kelley (nmpereign) guested. I like. https://caroline.bandcamp.com/album/caroline-2

Always a pleasure to interact with Victor here. Sad to hear this news. RIP.

This was very much a Richard ("Walkin'") Carpenter venture, yes? IIRC, he was managing Chet at the time.

Yes. More info here: https://redhookrecords.bandcamp.com/album/solace-of-the-mind

DFW folks... https://writersgarret.org/event/weary-blues-live/ The event is May 17th and features Quraysh Ali Lansana, Rebecca Cordes, Thaddeus Ford II, Joyce Hsu, Ann MacMillan, Paul Nunn, and Joyce Spencer.

Thanks!