Home » Jazz Articles » Book Review » Alive At The Village Vanguard: My Life In and Out of Jazz Time

257

Alive At The Village Vanguard: My Life In and Out of Jazz Time

By

View read count
Alive at the Village Vanguard: My Life In and Out of Jazz Time
Lorraine Gordon/Barry Singer
Hardcover; 288 pages
ISBN: 0634073990
Hal Leonard
2006

For anyone who has never had the edifying experience of listening to Village Vanguard proprietress Lorraine Gordon recounting tales from the legendary room's storied history while seated majestically at her corner desk in the cellar club's office/kitchen/dressing room, this book will serve as an entertaining introduction to one's of jazz' truly unique personalities. Those who have been there will immediately recognize the tone of the witty woman who has made her mark in the music business that has long been dominated by men.

In this breezy autobiographical memoir, the grand dame of club owners details her days as a lifelong jazz fan whose love of the music led her to succeed her late husband Max as the guiding spirit behind the most famous jazz room in the world - the culmination of an already adventurous "life in and out of jazz . Gordon tells of her early years as a teenaged record collector so enamored with jazz that it led to her first affair, a brief relationship with a disc jockey who introduced her to Blue Note Records founder Alfred Lion, her first true love. Gordon's recollections of her days working at the label with her first husband, particularly her warm memories of Thelonious Monk, are priceless.

While there may not be as many musical reminiscences from the Vanguard's golden age as inquisitive jazz scholars might hope for, the ones Gordon has chosen to share are thoroughly enjoyable. And the other aspects of her life - as a wife, mother, activist and generally liberated woman - are equally entertaining and educational. The book's fine photographs fashionably illustrate the tale of days well lived by a woman who is intelligent enough to know "that life is so beautiful when you're passionate about something and honest enough to tell the world that she knows "I am lucky.

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

Near

More

Popular

Read Take Five with Pianist Irving Flores
Read Jazz em Agosto 2025
Read Bob Schlesinger at Dazzle
Read SFJAZZ Spring Concerts
Read Sunday Best: A Netflix Documentary
Read Vivian Buczek at Ladies' Jazz Festival

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.