Gary Giddins wrote the Village Voice's 'Weather Bird' column for more than thirty years. His eight books and three documentary films have garnered unparalleled recognition for jazz, including a National Book Critics Circle Award in Criticism, two Ralph J. Gleason Music Book Awards, six ASCAP-Deems Taylor Awards, a Guggenheim, and a Peabody. He lives in New York City.

"Just try to read all of 'Natural Selection' without buying at least a few CD's and DVD's; the Criterion Collection should pay Giddins a commission."--New York Times Book Review"In an age of blogs and the everyman critic, it's reassuring to know people as brilliant as Giddins are still ready to offer insights only a true critic can provide. This is an exceptional addition to a remarkable career.... Nowhere else in his works do we find such a wide range of subjects, which proves his perceptive talents and in-depth knowledge of the mediums of which he writes are unequalled."--Library Journal(starred review)"Just try to read all of 'Natural Selection' without buying at least a few CD's and DVD's; the Criterion Collection should pay Giddins a commission."--New York Times Book Review"In an age of blogs and the everyman critic, it's reassuring to know people as brilliant as Giddins are still ready to offer insights only a true critic can provide. This is an exceptional addition to a remarkable career.... Nowhere else in his works do we find such a wide range of subjects, which proves his perceptive talents and in-depth knowledge of the mediums of which he writes are unequalled."--Library Journal(starred review)

• Introduction ; Acknowledgments ; Part One: Comedy ; 1- Speechless ; 2- Hanging Tough ; 3- There Aint No Sanity Claus ; 4- This Guy Wouldnt Give You the Parsley off His Fish ; 5- Cowardly Custard ; 6- Idiot Semi-Savant ; Part Two: Film ; 7- Best Picture, 1889 ; 8- Who Was That Masked Man? ; 9- Reviving Ghosts ; 10- The Pulse of the World ; 11- Ways We Werent ; 12- Naked Truth ; 13- Things That Go Bump ; 14- A Few Stops on the Way to the Grave ; 15- Hokum Became Him ; 16- Primal Fear ; 17- Tales of Treachery and Loyalty ; 18- Incomparable ; 19- Awash in Ambiguity ; 20- Going His Way ; 21- Blond and Beaming ; 22- The Two Leons ; 23- Kong Has Crazed His Mind ; 24- All the Screens a Stage ; 25- Eternal Times Square ; 26- Once upon a Time on the Via Veneto ; 27- Charming Imagination ; 28- I Spy ; 29- McCarey Nods ; 30- Across the Pacific ; 31- My Life Makes Me Cry ; 32- The Holland Line ; 33- Still Curious ; 34- Broken Promises ; 35- Calm, Cool, and Now Collected ; 36- Rock Heads ; 37- Real Reality TV ; 38- Roll Out the Sixties and Well Have a Wonderful Time ; 39- Round and Around and Around ; 40- Color Him Purple ; 41- Call It Anything ; 42- Savage Servility ; 43- Simplicity Itself ; 44- Pretty Boy ; 45- French Doubt ; 46- Blown Away ; 47- WWII and the Whole Truth ; Part Three: Music ; 48- Mixing Hot Licks with Vanilla ; 49- Brush Up Your Porter ; 50- Long-Playing ; 51- Jazz for the Eyes ; 52- Regrets, Theyve Had a Few ; 53- Ambassadors ; 54- Explosive ; 55- Im Supposed to Deliver ; 56- Brother Al ; 57- The Arranger ; 58- A New Kind of Virtuosity ; 59- Beale Street Talks ; 60- Old Man Rivers ; 61- Whos Gonna Throw That Minstrel Boy a Coin? ; 62- Fresh Flowers ; 63- Put Your Voice Where Your Mouth Is ; 64- On Her 90th Birthday ; Part Four: Books ; 65- Harsh as the sounds of a mans snore was the name of Khufu ; 66- The Grove of Academe ; 67- Carrying a Torch ; 68-Muddy Waters, I presume ; 69- Soupspoons Blues ; 70- Short and Acerbic ; 71- Oxford Jazz ; 72- A Public Burning ; 73- Doin That Waitin ; 74- Closed Minds ; 75- Laughing Man ; 76- Hes Got No Kick Against Modern Jazz ; 77- Mr. Ellington, Meet Mr. Matisse ; 78- Fighting for Freedom and Bad Taste ; 79- Pops and Pops ; 80- Seduced ; 81- Fear and Trembling ; 82- Kaddish for the Jews ; Index

Gary Giddins wrote the Village Voice's 'Weather Bird' column for more than thirty years. His eight books and three documentary films have garnered unparalleled recognition for jazz, including a National Book Critics Circle Award in Criticism, two Ralph J. Gleason Music Book Awards, six ASCAP-Deems Taylor Awards, a Guggenheim, and a Peabody. He lives in New York City.

"Just try to read all of 'Natural Selection' without buying at least a few CD's and DVD's; the Criterion Collection should pay Giddins a commission."--New York Times Book Review"In an age of blogs and the everyman critic, it's reassuring to know people as brilliant as Giddins are still ready to offer insights only a true critic can provide. This is an exceptional addition to a remarkable career.... Nowhere else in his works do we find such a wide range of subjects, which proves his perceptive talents and in-depth knowledge of the mediums of which he writes are unequalled."--Library Journal(starred review)"Just try to read all of 'Natural Selection' without buying at least a few CD's and DVD's; the Criterion Collection should pay Giddins a commission."--New York Times Book Review"In an age of blogs and the everyman critic, it's reassuring to know people as brilliant as Giddins are still ready to offer insights only a true critic can provide. This is an exceptional addition to a remarkable career.... Nowhere else in his works do we find such a wide range of subjects, which proves his perceptive talents and in-depth knowledge of the mediums of which he writes are unequalled."--Library Journal(starred review)

• Introduction ; Acknowledgments ; Part One: Comedy ; 1- Speechless ; 2- Hanging Tough ; 3- There Aint No Sanity Claus ; 4- This Guy Wouldnt Give You the Parsley off His Fish ; 5- Cowardly Custard ; 6- Idiot Semi-Savant ; Part Two: Film ; 7- Best Picture, 1889 ; 8- Who Was That Masked Man? ; 9- Reviving Ghosts ; 10- The Pulse of the World ; 11- Ways We Werent ; 12- Naked Truth ; 13- Things That Go Bump ; 14- A Few Stops on the Way to the Grave ; 15- Hokum Became Him ; 16- Primal Fear ; 17- Tales of Treachery and Loyalty ; 18- Incomparable ; 19- Awash in Ambiguity ; 20- Going His Way ; 21- Blond and Beaming ; 22- The Two Leons ; 23- Kong Has Crazed His Mind ; 24- All the Screens a Stage ; 25- Eternal Times Square ; 26- Once upon a Time on the Via Veneto ; 27- Charming Imagination ; 28- I Spy ; 29- McCarey Nods ; 30- Across the Pacific ; 31- My Life Makes Me Cry ; 32- The Holland Line ; 33- Still Curious ; 34- Broken Promises ; 35- Calm, Cool, and Now Collected ; 36- Rock Heads ; 37- Real Reality TV ; 38- Roll Out the Sixties and Well Have a Wonderful Time ; 39- Round and Around and Around ; 40- Color Him Purple ; 41- Call It Anything ; 42- Savage Servility ; 43- Simplicity Itself ; 44- Pretty Boy ; 45- French Doubt ; 46- Blown Away ; 47- WWII and the Whole Truth ; Part Three: Music ; 48- Mixing Hot Licks with Vanilla ; 49- Brush Up Your Porter ; 50- Long-Playing ; 51- Jazz for the Eyes ; 52- Regrets, Theyve Had a Few ; 53- Ambassadors ; 54- Explosive ; 55- Im Supposed to Deliver ; 56- Brother Al ; 57- The Arranger ; 58- A New Kind of Virtuosity ; 59- Beale Street Talks ; 60- Old Man Rivers ; 61- Whos Gonna Throw That Minstrel Boy a Coin? ; 62- Fresh Flowers ; 63- Put Your Voice Where Your Mouth Is ; 64- On Her 90th Birthday ; Part Four: Books ; 65- Harsh as the sounds of a mans snore was the name of Khufu ; 66- The Grove of Academe ; 67- Carrying a Torch ; 68-Muddy Waters, I presume ; 69- Soupspoons Blues ; 70- Short and Acerbic ; 71- Oxford Jazz ; 72- A Public Burning ; 73- Doin That Waitin ; 74- Closed Minds ; 75- Laughing Man ; 76- Hes Got No Kick Against Modern Jazz ; 77- Mr. Ellington, Meet Mr. Matisse ; 78- Fighting for Freedom and Bad Taste ; 79- Pops and Pops ; 80- Seduced ; 81- Fear and Trembling ; 82- Kaddish for the Jews ; Index

Gary Giddins wrote the Village Voice's 'Weather Bird' column for more than thirty years. His eight books and three documentary films have garnered unparalleled recognition for jazz, including a National Book Critics Circle Award in Criticism, two Ralph J. Gleason Music Book Awards, six ASCAP-Deems Taylor Awards, a Guggenheim, and a Peabody. He lives in New York City.

"Just try to read all of 'Natural Selection' without buying at least a few CD's and DVD's; the Criterion Collection should pay Giddins a commission."--New York Times Book Review"In an age of blogs and the everyman critic, it's reassuring to know people as brilliant as Giddins are still ready to offer insights only a true critic can provide. This is an exceptional addition to a remarkable career.... Nowhere else in his works do we find such a wide range of subjects, which proves his perceptive talents and in-depth knowledge of the mediums of which he writes are unequalled."--Library Journal(starred review)"Just try to read all of 'Natural Selection' without buying at least a few CD's and DVD's; the Criterion Collection should pay Giddins a commission."--New York Times Book Review"In an age of blogs and the everyman critic, it's reassuring to know people as brilliant as Giddins are still ready to offer insights only a true critic can provide. This is an exceptional addition to a remarkable career.... Nowhere else in his works do we find such a wide range of subjects, which proves his perceptive talents and in-depth knowledge of the mediums of which he writes are unequalled."--Library Journal(starred review)

• Introduction ; Acknowledgments ; Part One: Comedy ; 1- Speechless ; 2- Hanging Tough ; 3- There Aint No Sanity Claus ; 4- This Guy Wouldnt Give You the Parsley off His Fish ; 5- Cowardly Custard ; 6- Idiot Semi-Savant ; Part Two: Film ; 7- Best Picture, 1889 ; 8- Who Was That Masked Man? ; 9- Reviving Ghosts ; 10- The Pulse of the World ; 11- Ways We Werent ; 12- Naked Truth ; 13- Things That Go Bump ; 14- A Few Stops on the Way to the Grave ; 15- Hokum Became Him ; 16- Primal Fear ; 17- Tales of Treachery and Loyalty ; 18- Incomparable ; 19- Awash in Ambiguity ; 20- Going His Way ; 21- Blond and Beaming ; 22- The Two Leons ; 23- Kong Has Crazed His Mind ; 24- All the Screens a Stage ; 25- Eternal Times Square ; 26- Once upon a Time on the Via Veneto ; 27- Charming Imagination ; 28- I Spy ; 29- McCarey Nods ; 30- Across the Pacific ; 31- My Life Makes Me Cry ; 32- The Holland Line ; 33- Still Curious ; 34- Broken Promises ; 35- Calm, Cool, and Now Collected ; 36- Rock Heads ; 37- Real Reality TV ; 38- Roll Out the Sixties and Well Have a Wonderful Time ; 39- Round and Around and Around ; 40- Color Him Purple ; 41- Call It Anything ; 42- Savage Servility ; 43- Simplicity Itself ; 44- Pretty Boy ; 45- French Doubt ; 46- Blown Away ; 47- WWII and the Whole Truth ; Part Three: Music ; 48- Mixing Hot Licks with Vanilla ; 49- Brush Up Your Porter ; 50- Long-Playing ; 51- Jazz for the Eyes ; 52- Regrets, Theyve Had a Few ; 53- Ambassadors ; 54- Explosive ; 55- Im Supposed to Deliver ; 56- Brother Al ; 57- The Arranger ; 58- A New Kind of Virtuosity ; 59- Beale Street Talks ; 60- Old Man Rivers ; 61- Whos Gonna Throw That Minstrel Boy a Coin? ; 62- Fresh Flowers ; 63- Put Your Voice Where Your Mouth Is ; 64- On Her 90th Birthday ; Part Four: Books ; 65- Harsh as the sounds of a mans snore was the name of Khufu ; 66- The Grove of Academe ; 67- Carrying a Torch ; 68-Muddy Waters, I presume ; 69- Soupspoons Blues ; 70- Short and Acerbic ; 71- Oxford Jazz ; 72- A Public Burning ; 73- Doin That Waitin ; 74- Closed Minds ; 75- Laughing Man ; 76- Hes Got No Kick Against Modern Jazz ; 77- Mr. Ellington, Meet Mr. Matisse ; 78- Fighting for Freedom and Bad Taste ; 79- Pops and Pops ; 80- Seduced ; 81- Fear and Trembling ; 82- Kaddish for the Jews ; Index