The latest words on jazz, evaluated by critics who understand the power of jazz writing.
Ever feel insecure about listening to jazz? Like it’s over your head? Well, it’s not. And if you need proof of this, pick up Jeff … Read More “Jeff Gold: Sittin’ In: Jazz Clubs of the 1940s and 1950s (Harper Design)”
Having a fellow jazz singer and the author of the award-winning This Is Hip: The Life of Mark Murphy tackle the roots of bop vocalese and its … Read More “Peter Jones: This Is Bop: Jon Hendricks and the Art of Vocal Jazz (Equinox)”
We start with a familiar allegory: A number of blind and deaf men are led into a room with an elephant. Each tries to describe what’s … Read More “Dave Chisholm and Peter Markowski: Chasin’ the Bird: Charlie Parker in California (Z2 Comics)”
Were you an ardent fan of hard bop, circa 1960, with an additional yen for progressive mages like John Coltrane and Thelonious Monk, you might … Read More “Maria Golia: Ornette Coleman: The Territory and the Adventure (Reaktion)”
It almost sounds like the setup to an old comedy routine: A jazz/rock keyboardist walks into a bar with an eclectic Grammy-winning producer and comes … Read More “Ben Sidran: The Ballad of Tommy LiPuma (Nardis)”
Billie Holiday got knocked down. But she got up again. Actually, she had to get knocked down and get up again several times, according to … Read More “Kevin Whitehead: Play the Way You Feel: The Essential Guide to Jazz Stories on Film (Oxford University Press)”
Matt Brennan’s well-researched, entertainingly written, and greatly enjoyable 371-page read takes us on a historical journey with greater implications than one might at first suspect. … Read More “Matt Brennan: Kick It: A Social History of the Drum Kit (Oxford University Press)”
There are times I have watched the artful dissolves in Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane and wished there was a way to hang them on museum … Read More “Francis Wolff: Jazz Images (Elemental)”
To hear Dave Brubeck explain it, Columbia Records wasn’t too keen on releasing Time Out, his 1959 album. After several albums for the label, the … Read More “Philip Clark: Dave Brubeck: A Life in Time (Da Capo)”
