There are two large beautiful coffee table books about New Orleans street culture in recent circulation. I reviewed Freedom’s Dance: Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs in
As a flexible swing-oriented pianist who became a famous lyricist and composer of insightful and often humorous songs, many of which he sang, Dave Frishberg
A banjo is an instrument that produces a sound formed by strings over skin. That is the defining feature of the array of African predecessors,
In 2016, David Gilbert released his book Product of Our Souls: Ragtime, Race, and the Manhattan Musical Marketplace. This June, Archeophone Records released a companion
Jeru’s Journey is the first definitive biography of Gerry Mulligan. Most jazz fans likely know him as an outstanding baritone saxophone player but he was
Despite being a “white, privileged kid growing up on the west side of L.A “ Max Brooks, through a series of chance encounters, nurtured a
If you’ve ever attended a John Pizzarelli concert, you know you get a lot of conversation and banter along with some swinging tunes and vocals.
If you feel drawn to New Orleans street culture you have probably already seen a few of Eric Waters photographs. Taken at the intersection of
Since 1995, the Fillius Jazz Archive at Hamilton College has gathered oral histories from over three hundred jazz men and women—as well as from their
Jim Beatty is an 84-year old semi-retired New Orleans-style clarinetist. Perhaps best known for his association with the late cornetist Jim Goodwin, Beatty (who doubles
Pops Coffee turned his focus to traditional jazz in his early 50s but he pursued learning with such vehemence that thirty-odd years later he has
There was a sign in the medical library of the hospital in which I practiced; it stated: Any Book Is New Until You’ve Read It.
In preparing a remembrance of Maurice Peress for the Final Chorus column published this February I was intrigued by a description of his 2004 book,
Stride pianist extraordinaire Judy Carmichael candidly admits to being a Pollyanna, a characteristic which, she knows, annoys many people. In this marvelous memoir, the California-bred
The story of Ralph Peer is the story of music publishing and how it defined the American soundscape from the days of piano rolls and
The culmination of almost 60 years of field research and immense learning, Jazz Transatlantic is a remarkable contribution to the academic literature and a milestone
Richard M. Sudhalter told Jeff Sultanof that he should write books. Five pages into Sultanof’s multi-faceted examination of big band jazz, I felt the same
History is not only about wars and revolutions, disasters and discoveries, the famous and the infamous. No, it’s also about the common people, working men
Clarinetist Jim Beatty is one of the last living links to the jazz revival of the 1940s and ’50s. Remarkably he has worked professionally in
Most readers of this column would have, at least, heard of pianist/ group-leader/ composer Fred Hersch. He is now a 61 year old artist who
Recently I saw a Quad-City Times story about yet another book purporting to enlighten the public about the life and career of Bix Beiderbecke. I
Growing up in Davenport, Iowa, Brendan Wolfe could not help but be familiar with the name Bix Beiderbecke. He was aware of this Davenport native
This book explores the relationship between religion or spirituality and its influence, if any, on American jazz musicians. Little has been done in attempts to
It’s hard to believe this was David Fulmer’s debut novel because it’s so taut the tension itself turns the pages. For lovers of early jazz,
