Serge Chaloff (1923-1957) is most widely remembered as the flamboyant baritone saxophone star with Woody Herman''s 2nd Herd whose problems with drugs extended to erratic personal behavior. Nevertheless, there were many brilliant sessions featuring his work before and after his stint with Herman. This work attempts to bring them the recognition they deserve.

Simosko details the life and music of Serge Chaloff in an engaging style, from his childhood in Boston, Massachusetts, through his untimely death in 1957. He also provides a discography of Chaloff''s recorded output, much of which has been made available by the 1993 Mosaic Records release of The Complete Serge Chaloff Sessions.