The latest words on jazz, evaluated by critics who understand the power of jazz writing.
Back in 1957, Decca Records assigned photojournalist Jerry Dantzic to photograph Billie Holiday for an album cover (see The Blues Are Brewin’), and Dantzic opted … Read More “Billie Holiday at Sugar Hill by Jerry Dantzic & Grayson Dantzic”
With its multifaceted radicalism, the Art Ensemble of Chicago occupies a singular niche in the American music timeline. That creative audacity could be found in … Read More “Message to Our Folks: The Art Ensemble of Chicago by Paul Steinbeck”
Jazz Festival (Reel Press), a stunning book of photographs by Jim Marshall, follows previous compilations of his work including not fade Away and Jazz. Featuring … Read More “Book Review: Jim Marshall’s Jazz Festival“
Book includes previously unpublished work
Josef Woodard’s Charles Lloyd: A Wild, Blatant Truth is an unauthorized biography. But it’s hard to imagine any authorized volume providing richer perspectives on one … Read More “Charles Lloyd: A Wild, Blatant Truth by Josef Woodard”
John Corbett’s Microgroove: Forays Into Other Music is a sprawling meander through the multi-tiered world of “alternative” musics, encompassing jazz, rock, blues, avant-classical and literary … Read More “Microgroove: Forays Into Other Music by John Corbett”
Playboy impresario Hugh Hefner, an important advocate for jazz through his magazine, festival, nightclubs, TV show, compilations and books, died on Sept. 27 at his … Read More “Playboy Swings: How Hugh Hefner and Playboy Changed the Face of Music, by Patty Farmer”
It is surprising that Victor Svorinich’s Listen to This: Miles Davis and Bitches Brew is the first full-length book devoted to examining the 1970 double-album … Read More “Listen to This: Miles Davis and Bitches Brew by Victor Svorinch”
Everybody loves a love song. Countless have been written, and billions of words have been expended on them: why a beautifully sung romantic ballad makes … Read More “Love Songs: The Hidden History by Ted Gioia”
