Concerto for Cootie, The Life and Times of Cootie Williams

[Steve Bowie]

11 hours ago, bertrand said:

Steven,

The inventory at the back of the book mentions that the source for some of the titles is the Library of Congress. Were you able to consult actual lead sheets at the Library, or did you consult copyright.gov?

I should have been more specific in my citation. I used the Library of Congress "Catalog of Copyright Entries, Part 3, Musical Compositions," which is only a listing and doesn't include lead sheets. (Wouldn't that be great, though?)  As an example, here's a link to the 1931 book - https://archive.org/details/catalogofcopyrig263libr/page/n3/mode/2up . Attached is a page from the 1944 catalog that shows the entry for "'Round Midnight."

Edited January 29 by Steve Bowie

[bertrand]

Thanks! Getting lead sheets is possible but a lot harder than in the 90s when I went wild. Blame it on COVID and hiring freezes.

Do you know who is the publisher for Cootie's music?

[Steve Bowie]

Since his music was written over a wide time period, there are a lot of different publishers for his music.

[bertrand]

4 hours ago, Steve Bowie said:

Since his music was written over a wide time period, there are a lot of different publishers for his music.

If someone is considering a concert and/or recording, would you have some points of contact for publishing? Thanks.

[bertrand]

I have not read this yet, but is Freddie Redd's stint with Cootie Williams mentioned in the book?

[ghost of miles]

On 5/31/2026 at 1:51 AM, bertrand said:

I have not read this yet, but is Freddie Redd's stint with Cootie Williams mentioned in the book?

I just started the book recently and am about 30 pages in. A quick glance at the index shows Freddie Redd popping up on pg 305, where he's briefly quoted about playing with Cootie in the early 1950s.

[bertrand]

7 hours ago, ghost of miles said:

I just started the book recently and am about 30 pages in. A quick glance at the index shows Freddie Redd popping up on pg 305, where he's briefly quoted about playing with Cootie in the early 1950s.

Thanks. That is probably the story that is related in the Freddie Redd Mosaic booklet.

[Steve Bowie]

Hi Ken:

Did your hot house review appear somewhere? I couldn’t find it.

On 1/29/2026 at 5:16 AM, Ken Dryden said:

My review should be on line at hothousejazz.com in the next day or two, unless it ends up in the digital paid subscriber edition.

Edited July 28 by Steve Bowie

[Ken Dryden]

6 hours ago, Steve Bowie said:

Hi Ken:

Did your hot house review appear somewhere? I couldn’t find it.

Steve, I think that this book review ended up in the premium edition. I never know which edition a review or feature my stuff is going to be placed, as that is often a very late decision by the publisher. I spent a lot of time on an expanded piece about Oscar Peterson and his widow, Kelly, but due to the late arrival of photos, it may end up in the premium paid edition. It combined a recent interview with Kelly Peterson and my July 2002 interview with Oscar Peterson.

[Peter Friedman]

Looking foward to Ken's review.

Is the book available on Kindle?

[Steve Bowie]

Yes, it’s available on Kindle. It’s also available in paperback and hardcover. The audiobook version will be released on 6 October.