What (jazz book) to read next?

[Big Beat Steve]

I had long wondered whether to put this question into the "What jazz book are you reading right now?" topic but then decided to start a new one in order not to let that "reading right now" thread get deviated into too many directions. 

Sooo ... I am wondering which of the following books to tackle next after the current one (Eddie Condon's Treasury of jazz - which is well-suited to small instalments and can be put aside almost any time in between, of course):

(FTR,

 

(Right now I am leaning towards either "The Song Of the Hawk" or "Jazz Gentry" - another one that is perfect for reading in small -chapter-wise - portions in between)

The primary reason I  am asking is this:
Quite a few of the above artists have been graced by several biographies through the years, and these may not all have the same ranking among those in the know and familiar with them.
So my question is:
Any of you with any opinions on how the above rate compared to other biographies on the respective artists, or recommendations on which of these are particularly recommended, or which to put on the back burner in favor of a different one of the artist, maybe, etc.
(FTR, I do own and have read the Bix biography by Richard Sudhalter, and I did bypass the "Lady Sings The Blues" bio, of which there is a copy - German version - in this lot too)

(And in case anyone's wondering, "why that avalanche of biographies in one swoop?", 2 weeks ago I cleared out the bookshelves of the estate of a deceased jazz collector (from the source that the Bird book mentioned in the "Great finds" thread in August came from), and the above items are the tip of the iceberg - or should I say "icemountain?  - and the more tempting ones of the biographies included in the lot.)

Thanks in avance to everyone for your opinions and assessments. 

 

[HutchFan]

Two that I can easily recommend: Donald Clarke's biography of Billie Holiday and Sidney Bechet's autobiography.

Looks like you found a treasure trove!   

 

[Fer Urbina]

Of the ones you're showing, I'd go for first The Song of the Hawk (the only major biography of Hawkins, as far as I know), then Wishing for the Moon.  

I'd skip the Marian McPartland in favour of Paul de Barros's biography (done with her co-operation).

F

Edited yesterday at 02:23 PM by Fer Urbina

[jlhoots]

Robert Hilbert: Pee Wee Russell (not on your list).

[EKE BBB]

9 minutes ago, jlhoots said:

Robert Hilbert: Pee Wee Russell (not on your list).

1 hour ago, Fer Urbina said:

Of the ones you're showing, I'd go for first The Song of the Hawk (the only major biography of Hawkins, as far as I know)...
F

I second those two!

 

Edited yesterday at 03:35 PM by EKE BBB

[Big Beat Steve]

Thanks, all! (More input referring to my "list" very, very welcome! )

@Fer Urbina: Looking closer at that Marian McPartland book I see it is not "about" Marian McP, but rather "Marian McPartland about other jazz artists", so I'll file it along with the "Jazz Gentry" book. And I'll keep your recomendation in mind. 
And yes, I've read good things about the two books you put up front so they now are candidates for prioritization.

@HutchFan. Yes, quite a treasure, and a welcome haul. From a fairly wide field of jazz publication areas. 

@jlhoots and EKE BBB: Thanks for your recommendations about Pee Wee (which I will keep in mind too), but this one unfortunately was not part of the lot. With a lot of reshuffling of the contents of my bookshelves (and moving many books on other collecting interests into another room) I've managed to put most of the new arrivals that made up that haul in my music room (which has overflown into about half of the adjacent room by now) in an orderly way. But shelf space remains very limited (my order of the Pacific Jazz history book is still pending anyway), so I try to restrain myself from buying more music books right now. 
For the time being it's more a matter of which of these to get into first and how to rank them overall compared to other biographies on the same artists.
But as these finds (and the others that came with them) came my way essentially free, who am I to sneer at any of them?  

But while we're at it:
@EKE BBB: A question about Duke Ellington bios to you: This lot also includes three Duke Ellington biographies: "Music Is My Mistress", "Duke Ellington in Person" by Mercer Ellington, and "Duke Ellington, His Life and Music" (ed. by Peter Gammond), all of them in their German editions. How would you rate these 3 among the crop of existing Ellington biographies? I have a hunch that I'd have to turn elsewhere for today's #1 go-to biography on him, and I often have misgivings about German translations of such music books, but like I said - who am I to sneer at freebies?

Edited yesterday at 04:54 PM by Big Beat Steve

[JSngry]

The Clarke book is major.

[Big Beat Steve]

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 ...

[medjuck]

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.

[JSngry]

Chilto next imo.

[Big Beat Steve]

1 hour ago, JSngry said:

Chilton next imo.

For the Billie Holiday biography, that is?

@ those who read this thread and are familiar with the books:
Now how does the John Chilton biography of Sidney Bechet compare to "Treat It Gentle"? I've read glowing reviews of his Bechet bio. But opinions of actual users would be welcome as complementary info just the same. (Not that put-downs would deter me forever anyway. )  

 

Edited 3 hours ago by Big Beat Steve

[JSngry]

My suggested order is Bille(Clarke), Hawk, and Bechet.

And then some cartoons to reset for the next round.