Books
December 2010 By Jeff Tamarkin
Saxophone Colossus: A Portrait of Sonny Rollins
The first thing one notices about Saxophone Colossus: A Portrait of Sonny Rollins is, of course, the cover. The album after which this hardcover, coffee-table-style book is named was recorded in 1956—Rollins, at the time, was 25 years old. Yet the black...
December 2010 By Jeff Tamarkin
Coltrane on Coltrane
We may think we can learn everything we need to know about John Coltrane through his music, but Coltrane on Coltrane teaches us more. Edited by Chris DeVito, one of the authors of 2007’s The John Coltrane Reference , the book collects every known interview...
December 2010 By Christopher Loudon
A Biographical Guide to the Great Jazz and Pop Singers
Will Friedwald has, over the past two decades, emerged as the single most recognized authority on jazz singers. His liner notes have enhanced hundreds of vocal reissues, and his books and newspaper columns are equally perceptive. He’s outspoken, opinionated...
December 2010 By Christopher Loudon
That Old Black Magic: Louis Prima, Keely Smith and the Golden Age of Las Vegas
When you haven’t got much meat, it requires a lot of filler to create a decent sandwich. The meat here is the brief period, beginning in 1954, when Louis Prima and Keely Smith reigned as the hottest lounge act in Vegas, and it is pretty thin. Apart from...
December 2010 By Jeff Tamarkin
The New Face of Jazz
The New Face of Jazz begins with a simple premise: Jazz is neither dead nor stagnant. In the 21st century, innovation still drives the genre, and new practitioners of the art surface all the time, pushing it ahead. Author Cicily Janus, who is a musician...
July/August 2010 By Jeff Tamarkin
At the Jazz Band Ball: Sixty Years on the Jazz Scene
Jeff Tamarkin reviews latest collection of jazz writing from Nat Hentoff
July/August 2010 By Jeff Tamarkin
Pops: A LIfe of Louis Armstrong
The challenge for any biographer approaching a subject whose life story is ingrained in the world’s cellular memory is to introduce something new to that tale. For Pops , his exhaustive Louis Armstrong bio, author Terry Teachout benefited from unprecedented...
July/August 2010 By Christopher Loudon
Three Chords for Beauty's Sake: The Life of Artie Shaw
Be it with friends, lovers, wives or bands, Artie Shaw was a serial deserter. So reveals biographer Tom Nolan in his breezily written yet painstakingly detailed Three Chords for Beauty’s Sake . Diggers in search of celebrity dirt will surely be disappointed...
03/16/10 By Brian Gilmore
I Walked With Giants: The Autobiography of Jimmy Heath
Brian Gilmore reviews the autobiography of saxophonist Jimmy Heath, a true survivor.
03/13/10 By Lyn Horton
Reaching Into The Unknown, 1964-2009
Lyn Horton reviews book of poetry and photography, with a jazz theme.
