Book Excerpts
Daily articles carefully curated by the All About Jazz staff. Read our popular and future articles.
The Ballad Of Tommy LiPuma
The following is an excerpt is from “Chapter 1: Growing Up Cleveland" of The Ballad Of Tommy LiPuma by Ben Sidran (Nardis Books, 2020). When Tommy wasn't in the barbershop or working with the Sammy Dee band, he was sitting in at local nightclubs, trying to get his saxophone chops together. It was all about trying to find a sound. It wasn't just about playing in tune or playing the right notes; you were looking for a special ...
read moreIn the Court of King Crimson: An Observation Over 50 Years: Level Five, VIII
On November 15, 2019, as part of King Crimson's 50th Anniversary Celebration, Panegryic will be releasing Sid Smith's significant revision and expansion of his critically acclaimed bio, In the Court of King Crimson (Helter Skelter Publishing, 2001). More than merely adding what has gone on in the nearly 20 years since the original book was published, at nearly double its size, the 2019 edition of In the Court of King Crimson: An Observation Over 50 Years is a major revision ...
read moreMosaics: The Life and Works of Graham Collier
The following is an excerpt is from “Chapter 9: The Eighties or Graham Collier -The Wilderness Years" of Mosaics: The Life and Works of Graham Collier by Duncan Heining (Equinox Publishing, 2018). All Rights Reserved. The late Graham Collier was a bandleader, a composer and a jazz educator. As far as this latter role was concerned he was arguably one of the most significant figures in jazz education, a point supported by the many awards he received ...
read moreJazz Bursts Forth in Delaware Water Gap, PA
The following is an excerpt is from Chapter 1 of The Poconos in B Flat by Debbie Burke (Xlibris, 2011). All Rights Reserved. The iconic image of your approach from Interstate 80 coming from New York City and going west is of the negative space between two massive mountains that form a backdrop behind the Delaware River. Delaware Water Gap--the first stop on the Pennsylvania side of the Interstate coming from New Jersey and NYC--has ...
read moreGo Slow: The Life Of Julie London
The following is an excerpt is from “Chapter 12: For the Night People" of Go Slow: The Life of Julie London by Michael Owen (Chicago Review Press, 2017). All Rights Reserved. In 1965, after three years of largely recording pop tunes under Liberty Records' hit-making producer Snuff Garrett, Julie London was eager to return to the types of songs—and the style of singing—which had brought her fame and success a decade earlier with her debut album, Julie ...
read moreA Conversation with Mike Mainieri
The following is an excerpt from the chapter “A Conversation with Mike Mainieri" of Masters of the Vibes by Anthony Smith (Marimba Productions, 2017). So you've been working on a new project this week? Yes, just finishing some overdubs... it's a project I'm involved in with some friends, but I really can't talk about it right now. Sure. Also, my daughter and I performed at her school this week. She's a harpist ...
read moreThe Royal Roost: Birthplace of Bop
The story of the development of jazz in New York is tied to the story of a few seminal clubs and promoters who helped nurture the music. Just as new musical styles were developing during World War II that would lead to the birth of bebop, so was the jazz scene changing. The clubs that thrived on Fifty Second Street during the mid to late '30s were strictly segregated; black musicians could play at them but could not patronize them. ...
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Songs from a Dream by Avi Adrian
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