|
|
Post by tomd on Aug 20, 2014 19:05:29 GMT -5
Sorry, haven't read it. Most books in the "...For Dummies" series are pretty good. The Amazon reviews for "Jazz for Dummies" don't look great, however.
I don't know exactly what you're looking for, but if you want a "guide for the new(ish) jazz listener", it might be more effective (though more time/money) to combine two or three of the recommendations on p. 1 of this thread, for example Martin Williams "The Jazz Tradition" + Ted Gioia "The History of Jazz" + a volume (doesn't have to be the latest) of the "Penguin Jazz Guide".
|
|
|
|
Post by bebop on Aug 20, 2014 21:50:15 GMT -5
I'd say "Wail" is the most deeply researched, but I got the least feel for Bud as a person. I'm reading along and I know Bud's brother is about to die, for instance. The bio basically reads "Richie died" and rolls right on. Did Bud have a reaction? Same with his mother's death. I don't have the book in front of me, but I'm almost certain the descriptions around these two important deaths don't exceed two paragraphs. "Wail" does have copious information about incarcerations, police altercations, hospitalizations.
Paudras, for its faults, gave probably the best picture of Bud in the most important years. Accurate or biased? I wasn't there.
But those would be my picks, depending on what you want. |
|
|
|
Post by billf on Aug 21, 2014 4:35:09 GMT -5
Two good big band bios. (The Kenton is definitive; the Herman not so much but still pretty good).
 
Found a lot of interest in the Herman book. Woody's confrontations with the crazy Serge Chaloff stick in my mind! Have just placed an order for the Kenton book. |
|
|
|
Post by minorkey on Aug 21, 2014 4:52:33 GMT -5
I don't know exactly what you're looking for, but if you want a "guide for the new(ish) jazz listener", it might be more effective (though more time/money) to combine two or three of the recommendations on p. 1 of this thread, for example Martin Williams "The Jazz Tradition" + Ted Gioia "The History of Jazz" + a volume (doesn't have to be the latest) of the "Penguin Jazz Guide". Yea that's kind of what Im looking for. Beginner's guide to jazz. |
|
|
|
Post by johnt on Aug 21, 2014 7:36:42 GMT -5
My copy has a different cover but this is an interesting read:
|
|
|
|
Post by johnt on Aug 21, 2014 7:39:32 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by minorkey on Aug 21, 2014 7:51:26 GMT -5
My copy has a different cover but this is an interesting read:
Oh Ella oh Ella if I was your fella... |
|
|
|
Post by billf on Aug 22, 2014 3:31:21 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by minorkey on Aug 22, 2014 16:41:48 GMT -5
Id never heard of him. Sounds colourful! But how awful: Sept. 1963 his father died and a month later, while his wife was driving him back from a Las Vegas gig, his wife lost control of their car, plunging down an embankment on the Nevada highway. Rodney, asleep in the back seat, awoke to find his wife and 14-yr. old daughter dead. |
|
|
|
Post by bebop on Aug 22, 2014 19:50:09 GMT -5
Another biography page on Red Rodney www.musicianguide.com/biographies/1608001304/Red-Rodney.html
Note the anecdote about the military officer in San Francisco thing. We talked about it a couple of times (since I was hanging out with him in San Francisco, albeit in a later era). I mentioned it, and he steered the conversation away...which was cool. Perhaps it was more bad memory than good. But he got back around to it. He seemed a little proud/self-amused. Apparently, he carried on in the military thing everywhere, including on the local college campus, a pretty strange thing to be doing in San Francisco.
But he was really nice to me. Only good memories. Same as Chet Baker - another guy with a colorful past, but seemingly mellowed by the time our paths crossed. |
|
|
|
Post by billf on Sept 13, 2014 7:57:15 GMT -5
I'd say "Wail" is the most deeply researched, but I got the least feel for Bud as a person. I'm reading along and I know Bud's brother is about to die, for instance. The bio basically reads "Richie died" and rolls right on. Did Bud have a reaction? Same with his mother's death. I don't have the book in front of me, but I'm almost certain the descriptions around these two important deaths don't exceed two paragraphs. "Wail" does have copious information about incarcerations, police altercations, hospitalizations.
Paudras, for its faults, gave probably the best picture of Bud in the most important years. Accurate or biased? I wasn't there.
But those would be my picks, depending on what you want. Have just finished reading Paudras on your recommendation. Thanks! At first his style bugged me - I'm sure the translation had a lot to do with that, and he himself admits to overdoing superlatives - but then I settled into it. As you say, whether true or not, a vivid picture of Bud as a person emerges. And what is so good in the age of Spotify is that you can listen to the recordings as you read about the sessions. |
|
|
|
Post by johnt on Oct 20, 2014 19:54:40 GMT -5
Now reading:
|
|
|
|
Post by billf on Oct 21, 2014 2:06:08 GMT -5
Now reading:
Looks interesting, John! Let us know what you think. |
|
|
|
Post by tomd on Nov 16, 2014 20:40:12 GMT -5
The paperback edition of the Gigi Gryce biography is much cheaper than the hardcover, and I'm going to buy it as soon as I finish a couple of long books currently in the pile  . I saw Herbie Hancock's new autobiography in a bookshop today, but it seemed a little thin and not very meaty. I'll pass for now. |
|
|
|
Post by billf on Nov 17, 2014 3:06:41 GMT -5
The paperback edition of the Gigi Gryce biography is much cheaper than the hardcover, and I'm going to buy it as soon as I finish a couple of long books currently in the pile . I saw Herbie Hancock's new autobiography in a bookshop today, but it seemed a little thin and not very meaty. I'll pass for now. The Gryce book has a good reputation. Will give it a try if and when the price is right. |
|
