Kansas City Lightning

"A tour de force that is the print equivalent of a long, bravura jazz performance... Crouch has given us a bone-deep understanding of Parker's music and the world that produced it. In his pages, Bird still lives." -- Washington Post "It is from Mr. Crouch, a novelist as well as a critic and essayist, that we come to see Charlie Parker in the context of his time and place in America... One comes away from Mr. Crouch's book wanting more." -- Wall Street Journal "Kansas City Lightning succeeds as few biographies of jazz musicians have... This book is a magnificent achievement; I could hardly put it down." -- Henry Louis Gates, Jr. "This is a memorable book... Stanley Crouch takes us deep into places most of us can only imagine-including into the heart of the mysterious split-second alchemy that takes place nightly on the bandstand." -- Geoffrey C. Ward "A book about a jazz hero written in a heroic style... a bebop Beowulf." -- New York Times "[Crouch] crafts lush scenes and crackling music writing... Jazz fans will want to read this book... This is a thorough and entertaining account of one of the greatest rises-and the prelude to one of the greatest falls-in jazz history." -- NPR.org "It takes a lifetime of passionate engagement to write with the intensity and depth of Stanley Crouch... The results are insightful, profound, and wholly original... This a must read, not just for jazz fans, but for anyone interested in American possibilities." -- Wynton Marsalis "A jazz biography that ranks with the very best." -- Booklist, starred review "Crouch... is uniquely qualified to guide readers on this tour... A story rich in musical history and poignant with dramatic irony." -- Kirkus Reviews "[A] riveting, long-awaited book ... Here is Bird making his watershed discoveries before he fired his own lightning bolts." -- Gary Giddins "A portrait of the young Charlie Parker with a degree of vivid detail never before approached... [Kansas City Lightning is] a deft, virtuosic panorama of early jazz... This is a mind-opening, and mind-filling, book." -- Tom Piazza "Stanley Crouch's work is perhaps the most important writing on jazz today... This outstanding book is food for the soul for any serious listener of jazz music." -- Madhav Chari, jazz pianist With the straight-ahead timing and the ethereal blowing of a great jazzman, Crouch delivers a scorching set... Crouch brings to life the swinging backdrop against which Parker honed his craft." -- Publishers Weekly "This first volume in the epic biography of Charlie Parker showcases Stanley Crouch's encyclopedic knowledge of jazz history and effusive prose." -- Shelf Awareness "Kansas City Lightning paints a profound portrait of a great American musician, but also features Crouch operating at the top of his game." -- Eugene Holley, Publishers Weekly "Stanley Crouch has a store of fresh information for you in his new book about Charlie Parker (1920-55), the genius of American music universally known as Bird, and invaluable insights to offer into the meaning of Parker's achievement. It is imperative that you come into possession of this material..." -- Daily Beast "Award-winning Crouch takes a deep look at [Parker's] rich life." -- Denver Post "Social and cultural critic, columnist and MacArthur Genius Crouch offers a mix of impressionist strokes, historical facts and context in his masterful Charlie Parker bio." -- New York Post "Meticulous and steeped in local lore... Feel[s] as urgent as a blast from Parker's saxophone." -- Kansas City Star "The soul of Stanley Crouch joins the soul of the legendary jazz legend... Crouch recreates 'the Bird' with his writer's talents at their peak and the result is magical." -- Huffington Post "Fans of Mr. Crouch hav

Stanley Crouch has twice been nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award, for his essay collections Notes of a Hanging Judge and The All-American Skin Game. His other books include Always in Pursuit, The Artificial White Man, and the acclaimed novel Don't the Moon Look Lonesome. He has served on and off as the artistic consultant for jazz programming at Lincoln Center, is the president of the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation, and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.