Studies in Jazz – serie

Art Tatum is generally acknowledged to be the greatest jazz pianist of all time. This is both a catalog and a source book to his recorded music. Included in this meticulously constructed computer-aided discography are the details of 629 issued performances on 224 different record labels originating in 19 countries, as well as 238 unissued performances, with an easy-to-use chronological discography, an unissued sessions list, a compilation of issued discs, cross-referenced with the chronological discography, an alphabetical index of titles, a musician index, and an 'Imitatums' section, which lists efforts by other musicians to play in Tatum's style.

Known to serious students of jazz as the "Father of Stride Piano," James P. Johnson has only recently begun to receive the acclaim he merits. Born in New Brunswick, NJ and reared in the cultural hotbed of Harlem, Johnson spanned the ragtime era, through the roaring twenties (to which he contributed its theme song the Charleston) and into the swing era. Part I is a chronological biography, with listings of his musical revues, extended compositions, film work, and all other song and instrumental pieces; a comprehensive bibliography; and photos. Part II is an exhaustive discography.

Foreword by George T. Simon Polic covers a small but significant period of Glenn Miller's life and music, from his enlistment in 1942 and the beginning of his Army Air Force Band in 1943, through its end in late 1945, giving an overall history of the band and a detailed recounting of the day-by-day activities of the band. With various indexes and two appendixes.

Chip Deffaa presents the recollections of eighteen musicians, covering a wealth of American musical history.

Teddy Reig (1917-1984) was a larger-than-life character, a self-described hustler who had a profound effect on the music world from the 1940s to the 1970s. As a record producer, he captured the work of dozens of leading jazz innovators. He also had an impact on rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and the Latin field. In Part 1, Reig tells his own story. Part 2 consists of interviews with key figures who were close to Reig at various stages of his career. Part 3 is an extensive discography of Reig's productions. The copious illustrations include many previously unpublished photos.

In the 18 profiles that make up this book, the reader will hear the stories—mostly in their own words—of a lively array of contributors to mainstream jazz and popular music. New York Post jazz critic Chip Deffaa has interviewed musicians both famous and not so famous—big band leaders like drum whiz Ray McKinley, Andy Kirk, and "Twentieth Century Gabriel" Erskine Hawkins; celebrated sidemen like clarinetist Johnny Mince and bassist Bob Haggart; 1920's trumpeter Doc Cheatham and arranger Bill Challis; 30's trumpeter Bill Dillard; 40's saxist George Kelly; and drummer Sonny Igoe, pianist Dick Hyman, and drummer Jack Hanna of more recent years; plus Buddy Morrow, Oliver Jackson, Mahlon Clark, Joe Wilder, Bucky and John Pizzarelli, and Ken Peplowski.

"Both as a person and as a musician, he was number one in my book." —Benny CarterBassist George Duvivier (1920-1985) was one of the most universally respected musicians in jazz. His impeccable musicianship graced the big bands in the 1940s and led to musical associations with virtually every important jazz and popular artist. His prolific recording career spanned all styles of music, from Eubie Blake to Eric Dolphy, Billie Holiday to Barry Manilow.Duvivier was a most astute and articulate observer of the musical scene. A large part of this book is devoted to his own reflections on growing up in Harlem in the 1920s and 1930s, the evolution of the bass, life in the commercial studios, and his memories of close associates—Coleman Hawkins, Jimmie Lunceford, Bud Powell, Lena Horne, and many others. In addition, twenty of Duvivier's colleagues, including Louie Bellson, Ron Carter, Milt Hinton, Ed Shaughnessy, Arthur Taylor, and Joe Wilder, have contributed, covering a variety of musical and social issues, as well as providing a loving portrait of an extraordinary artist. Duvivier's musical style is discussed by David Chevan, who has included transcriptions of several solos. An extensive discography/solography traces Duvivier's incredibly diverse recording career. With dozens of previously unpublished photos.

In Chip Deffaa's fourth collection we meet 14 dedicated musicians_none of whom (except for Marty Grosz) has ever before been profiled in a book_who fight to sustain early styles of jazz. How did they become champions of music from before their time? And how best, in their options, can classic jazz be kept alive? They include Vince Giordano, pianist Terry Waldo, banjoist Eddy Davis, cornetist Peter Ecklund, clarinetist Orange Kellin, guitarist Marty Grosz, clarinetist Joe Muranyi, trumpeter Richard Sudhalter, trombonist Dan Barrett, cornetist Ed Polcer, clarinetist Stan Rubin, singers Carrie Smith and Sandra-Reaves Philips, and Vernel Bagneris, multi-talented facilitator of revival.

Benny Goodman: Wrappin' It Up presents swing fans, jazz scholars, and collectors with newly discovered recordings, broadcasts, and engagements of the famed clarinetist unearthed since Connor's Benny Goodman: Listen to His Legacy (Scarecrow, 1988). The listings of hundreds of previously unknown recordings will delight collectors, while jazz fans will enjoy Connor's intimate recollections of his friendship with Goodman, which bring a human dimension to an artist often known only for his music. Scholars will treasure the treatise on Goodman's arrangements now in the collections at the New York Public Library and Yale University. Wrappin' It Up also contains 28 rare photographs, many never published before, that span Goodman's career in both the recording and movie studio as well as a unique section covering over three hundred previously unknown broadcast recordings from 1935 to 1943. Also included are current prices for Goodman memorabilia, a schedule of Goodman's film and television appearances available on video, a necrology of Goodman's sidemen and associates, and indexes.

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.

The Dorsey brothers were prominent members of the Big Band fraternity in the late thirties, forties, and fifties. Jimmy Dorsey: A Study in Contrasts is a bio-discographical text that spans Jimmy Dorsey's career as a musician, orchestra leader, and composer. The book is a collection of chronological listings of every recording on which Dorsey is believed to have played or have been present, interspersed with brief biographical notations and contemporary historical information that show the close relationship between his talents and his life experiences as well as points out the many contrasts between Jimmy and his brother Tommy in personality, business drive, and musical ability. Each listing contains an abundance of information about the studio, city, and date of the session, the name of the recording group, its personnel and their instruments, plus the matrix number, song title, vocalist (if any) and all the world wide releases known to be in existence (including 78 rpm, 45 rpm, EP, LP, 8-track, cassette, compact disc, and electrical transcription). The listings even include any other titles under which the recording may have been released. In addition to music, motion pictures, radio, and television programs on which Dorsey worked or appeared, the listings contain information about the Broadway musical productions where he was a member of the pit band. In all, over 3000 recordings and appearances are listed, making this an unequaled and minutely detailed reference on Jimmy Dorsey, one of the most influential musicians of the big band era.

Stride! traces the stride piano style from its roots in minstrel shows and ragtime, through the contributions of itinerant entertainers, to its joyful birth in Harlem, where it became known as Harlem Piano. Stride developed over a period spanning World War I to the depression years, though younger players maintain its traditions today. It is a musical style marked by friendly rivalry and shared pleasures. Drawing on the authors' personal interviews and biographies, the book traces stride from generation to generation, from the originators Eubie Blake, Luckey Roberts, and James P. Johnson, through a succession of pianists like Willie the Lion Smith. Fell and Vinding also examine its influence on Duke Ellington, Fats Waller, Joe Sullivan, and Johnny Guarnieri, concluding with third and fourth generations that include Ralph Sutton, Dick Hyman, and Dick Wellstood. The authors describe the exceptional Donald Lambert from personal experience. Throughout, influences are traced and documented by way of CD and LP citations. Stride! finishes the tune with appendixes that itemize the compositions of Luckey Roberts, Fats Waller and Willie the Lion Smith.

The Unsung Songwriters is dedicated to a period in the history of American music that author Warren Vaché calls the "Golden Age of Songwriting," and to the men and women who made it great.Contrary to the widely held opinion that most of our hit and standard songs were composed by a handful of top writers—Berlin, Gershwin, Kern, Porter, and Rodgers—the fact is that the vast majority of them were written by relatively unknown composers. In this definitive reference work to the "unsung songwriters," you will find Al Neiberg, the author of "It's the Talk of the Town," Maceo Pinkard, the mind behind "Sweet Georgia Brown" and "Sugar," Harry Woods for "Try a Little Tenderness," J. Fred Coots for "You Go to My Head," and many more.

Betty Bennett evokes a bygone era when "territory" and "name" bands—each with its own "girl singer"—criscrossed the country in Ladies Who Sing With the Band. The author's career intersected with many of the icons of jazz and popular music, among them Nat King Cole, Dizzy Gillespie, Georgie Auld, Claude Thornhill, Charlie Ventura, Benny Goodman, and Charlie Barnet. Bennett's anecdotes about these personalities enlighten and entertain, as does her entirely unselfconscious discussion of her marriage to Andre Previn and her relationship with her husband, guitar great Mundell Lowe. The book deals with several issues that transcend music. The entertainment industry—particularly the jazz world—was an early era of black/white professional and personal interaction. Moreover, the traveling big band represented a unique instance of women in an all-male workplace. Bennett confronts these issues of race and gender in a refreshingly forthright manner.

Jazz in New Orleans provides accurate information about, and an insightful interpretation of, jazz in New Orleans from the end of World War II through 1970. Suhor, relying on his experiences as a listener, a working jazz drummer, and writer in New Orleans during this period, has done a great service to lovers of New Orleans music by filling in some gaping holes in postwar jazz history and cutting through many of the myths and misconceptions that have taken hold over the years. Skillfully combining his personal experiences and historical research, the author writes with both authority and immediacy. The text, rich in previously unpublished anecdotes and New Orleans lore, is divided into three sections, each with an overview essay followed by pertinent articles Suhor wrote for national and local journals—including Down Beat and New Orleans Magazine. Section One, "Jazz and the Establishment," focuses on cultural and institutional settings in which jazz was first battered, then nurtured. It deals with the reluctance of power brokers and the custodians of culture in New Orleans to accept jazz as art until the music proved itself elsewhere and was easily recognizable as a marketable commodity. Section Two, "Traditional and Dixieland Jazz," highlights the music and the musicians who were central to early jazz styles in New Orleans between 1947 and 1953. Section Three, "An Invisible Generation," will help dispel the stubborn myth that almost no one was playing be-bop or other modern jazz styles in New Orleans before the current generation of young artists appeared in the 1980s.

Comprehensive chronological survey and analysis of every recording on which Louis Armstrong played during the period 1923 to 1928. Armstrong's immense impact on the evolution of jazz is found primarily in these early recordings, and Brooks's close examination of this period is important, as much of this influence becomes obscured by later recordings. Glossary, bibliography, and title index.

Martin provides a new overall assessment of the importance of Charlie Parker through an analysis of his improvisations in a variety of genres. Earlier studies of Parker argue that his style is based on an extensive network of melodic formulas that are combined to create solos. Because the same formulas appear throughout his improvisations regardless of the theme, these studies concluded that the solos do not usually relate to the original melodies. Charlie Parker and Thematic Improvisation provides a much-needed reassessment by showing that Parker's solos are often related to the original themes in unexpected and sometimes ingenious ways. The conclusion sums up features of Parker's style and discusses his contribution in the context of Western music history. Numerous transcriptions are provided. This groundbreaking technical study will be of interest to musicologists and serious students of jazz.

NOW IN PAPERBACK! J.J. Johnson, known as the spiritual father of modern trombone, has been a notable figure in the history of jazz. His career has embodied virtually every innovation and development in jazz over the past half-century. In this first comprehensive biography, filmography, catalog of compositions, and discography, the authors explore Johnson's childhood and early education, document his first compositions, and examine his classical roots, thereby creating a unique and powerful illustration of the composer's technical and stylistic development. New in the paperback edition is an Epilogue containing vital information about Johnson's suicide as well as an Index of Discography Titles.

Terry Gibbs, legendary jazz vibraphonist and bandleader, was 12 years old when he kicked off his career as a professional musician, winning first place in an amateur performance. Born and raised in the heart of Brooklyn and possessing tremendous musical talent, Gibbs learned the ins and outs of bebop from pioneers like Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, and Bud Powell. In 1959 his ensemble, later dubbed The Dream Band, became the toast of Hollywood. Four decades, 65 albums, and 300 compositions later, his story is one of great substance-his foot—tapping music, revolutionary. Good Vibes is a rollicking autobiography that tracks jazz from the turbulent post-war years through the rise of bebop, traversing its changes through the eyes of one of its greatest practitioners. Gibbs's hilarious, poignant, and always fascinating anecdotes reveal little-known attributes and quirks about legendary personalities such as Benny Goodman, Buddy Rich, Steve Allen, Frank Sinatra, Don Rickles, Billie Holiday, and many more. A foreword by Chubby Jackson, a discography, and an index round out this work.

London-based musician and journalist Gordon Jack's method is to let the musicians tell their own stories with minimum intervention, in the manner of Ira Gitler's classic Swing to Bop. Famous or obscure, these more than 30 musicians who came to prominence in the 1950s each has a story to tell, and Jack captures the style and tone of his interviewees in this oral retrospective of what may have been jazz's last golden age. The musicians are: Gene Allen, Mose Allison, Dave Bailey, Chuck Berghofer, Eddie Bert, Bob Brookmeyer, Pete Christlieb, Bill Crow, Joe Dodge, Bob Enevoldsen, Don Ferrara, Herb Geller, Corky Hale, Peter Ind, Frank Isola, Lee Konitz, Stan Levey, Jack Montrose, Gerry Mulligan, the Gerry Mulligan Quartet (with Larry Bunker, Chico Hamilton, Carson Smith, Bob Whitlock), Lennie Niehaus, Jack Nimitz, Hod O'Brien, Bill Perkins, Bud Shank, Phil Urso, and Phil Woods.Jack's introductions and notes unobtrusively sketch out the life and achievements of each musician, and there are photographs of each one, many of them taken by Jack himself.

This biography reveals the lost history of the life of Florence Mills, who was very famous during the 1920s, and traces her story from childhood to her untimely death at age 31. Mills who was probably the first black female international superstar, was lionized by crowned heads in Europe and described by English show business impresario C.B. Cochran as "one of the greatest artists that ever walked on to a stage." Although her career and shows changed the nature of black entertainment, and thereby the wider American popular culture, she was largely forgotten in later years.An additional theme of the book is the important but little-known associations Florence Mills had in the early world of jazz and ragtime, and her innovative influence on important aspects of jazz singing. It explores the connections between her and Duke Ellington, who dedicated his outstanding composition "Black Beauty" to her. Will be of interest to librarians, jazz fans, especially those interested in Duke Ellington, and anyone interested in the history of musical theater.

Like most ground-breaking art forms, contemporary creative music is rarely understood or accepted in its own time, and for those reasons, can largely go unheard. Music and the Creative Spirit: Innovators in Jazz, Improvisation, and the Avant Garde aims to give today's brightest music innovators due recognition and respect, celebrating their work and creativity. Through personal interviews, artists such as Pat Metheny, Regina Carter, Joshua Redman, Fred Anderson, Dave Holland, Bill Frisell, David Murray, and John Zorn—to name just a few—offer clear, frank discussions about music, creativity, work, society, culture, current events, and more. Author Lloyd Peterson has hand picked these artists specifically for their ability to express themselves through their own creative voices and transcend their art form through the strength of their own ingenious spirit. Their music eschews categorization, genre, or style, and the book necessarily takes a broader view of jazz, tapping into the inventive aspect that is difficult to describe or teach, and is rarely discussed. By allowing the innovators an opportunity to speak for themselves, readers are afforded a clearer sense of their attitudes and approaches, their ways of working, and their views of contemporary music and society.

An Unsung Cat explores the life and music of jazz saxophonist, Warne Marsh. Safford Chamberlain follows the artist from his start in youth bands like the Hollywood Canteen Kids and The Teen-Agers through his studies under Lennie Tristano, his brilliant playing of the 1950s, his disappearance from public view in the 1960s, his re-emergence in the 1970s, and his belated recognition in the 1980s as one of the finest tenor players of the post-World War II era. Through interviews with the Marsh family and friends, Chamberlain offers an inside view of Marsh's private life, including his struggles with drug abuse. Detailed analysis of outstanding performances complements the personal story, while an extensively researched discography and photographs reveal the public and private face of this unique performer. In addition to the book, Scarecrow is pleased to offer a companion compact disc, released by Storyville Records. The tracks on the CD provide a representative sampling of Marsh's best work, while providing a historical overview of his development, from the beginning track, 'Apple Honey,' which is a private, low-fidelity tape from an NBC radio broadcast in 1945 of the Hoagy Carmichael Show, to the final track, 'Sweet and Lovely,' captured months before his death in 1987.

The world's fascination with New Orleans stems from the allure of the music of the city—music that owes its origins and development to many sources. Until now, popular and scholarly books, dissertations, and articles that attempt to explain these sources have failed to recognize the unsung heroes of the New Orleans jazz scene: the teachers in its public schools. Through more than 90 original interviews and extensive research in New Orleans' historical collections, Dr. Kennedy documents ways that public school teachers pushed an often unwilling urban institution to become an important structure that transmitted jazz and the other musical traditions of the city to future musicians.Music legends from Louis Armstrong to Ellis Marsalis Jr.—who also provides the foreword—are just two of the many well-known former students of the New Orleans public schools. Chord Changes on the Chalkboard shows that, particularly after the 1920s, public school students benefited not only from the study of instrumental music and theory, but also from direct exposure to musicians, many of whom were invited to perform for the students. The impact the teachers had on generations of musicians and music fans is undeniable, yet their teaching techniques are only part of the story. In addition to the successes enjoyed with their students, the teachers' own musical experiences, recordings, and performances are also examined. The interaction between teachers and students in New Orleans public school classrooms opens a new field of research for music historians, and this book is the first to document ways in which public school teachers acted as mentors to shape the future of jazz and the music of New Orleans. An important addition to its field, Chord Changes on a Chalkboard will provide invaluable information for jazz fans and historians, music scholars and students, and it is also useful reading for any public school teacher. A must for any music library, it should also be a welcome addition to any collection supporting A

Fake books—anthologies of songs notated in a musical shorthand—have been used by countless pop and jazz musicians in both professional and amateur settings for more than half a century. The Story of Fake Books: Bootlegging Songs to Musicians traces the entertaining and previously unknown account of the origins of pop song fake books, which evolved through the bootlegging of a now obscure musical subscription service, the Tune-Dex. The book follows the history of fake books through their increased popularity among musicians to their prosecution by the government and the music industry, resulting in America's first full-blown federal trial for criminal copyright infringement. Through accounts given by jazz musicians Steve Swallow and Pat Metheny, The Story of Fake Books also reveals the definitive history of the most popular fake book, one that has acquired a legendary status among jazz musicians: an anthology of jazz tunes called The Real Book. Drawing from information in FBI files, entertainment trade papers, and federal court records, author Barry Kernfeld presents pioneering research, which brings together aspects of pop music history and copyright law to disclose this predecessor of current-day battles over pop song piracy.

Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong was not only jazz's greatest musician and innovator, but also arguably its most famous entertainer and the frontal figure in the development of contemporary popular music. Overcoming social and political obstacles, he created a long and impressive career and an enormous musical output. Now, his ground breaking musical career is amassed and detailed in this discography of all his works, from professionally made commercial releases, to amateur and unissued recordings.All of Me is a comprehensive, chronological discography born out of love and admiration for Louis Armstrong, and devotion to years of collecting his musical accomplishments. Author Jos Willems has meticulously compiled all of Satchmo's known recordings—both studio and live performances—and with assistance from internationally renowned specialists, has assembled an impressively detailed, accurate, and complete listing. This volume is superbly formatted and presented, logically organized, and thoroughly indexed by song title and individual. Researchers, collectors, and enthusiasts can easily look up any detail of a recording: issues and releases of particular songs; publishing companies; producers; catalog numbers; dates, times, and locations of recordings; musicians Armstrong played with; and format, be it 78 or 45 RPM records, LPs, CDs, or media appearances. Every detail of Armstrong's career is listed in this impressive volume, shedding light on the enormity of his impact on jazz and popular culture. This is the ultimate reference guide for the complete works of Louis Armstrong.

Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (1899-1974) is recognized as one of the great composers and orchestra leaders of the twentieth century and is credited for raising jazz to its highest plateau. He remained musically active through his entire life, creating a prolific musical output. Ellingtonia: The Recorded Music of Duke Ellington and His Sidemen compiles Ellington's entire musical catalog from the first recording session in July 1923 to the last concert in March 1974. More than a discography, the book comprises all the activities of these musicians, including studio recordings, movie soundtracks, concerts, dance dates, radio broadcasts, telecasts, and private and unissued recordings, as well as recordings made by Ellington's sidemen under their own names or with other bands. W. E. Timner provides the date, location and personnel for each session, the label of first issue, master and take numbers (if available), and song title, including alternate titles and derivatives. Containing a comprehensive guide for users and indexes of titles, musicians, cities, venues, and general subjects, this completely revised and updated 5th edition also contains a new section listing Ellington's radio broadcasts and telecasts. Complete with extensive footnotes, Ellingtonia remains an indispensable and easy to use reference source for Jazz collectors and scholars.

Nearly 700 works by over 500 authors are presented in Jazz Fiction: A History and Comprehensive Reader's Guide, a comprehensive annotated bibliography of stories and novels that contain a jazz component. Presenting a valuable overview of the history of the genre from its beginnings to the near present, the book compartmentalizes the titles into literature genres, such as children, teen, and young adult stories; mystery and detective fiction; fantasy and science fiction; women and jazz; works based on the lives of actual jazz artists; international jazz fiction (representing over 20 countries); and even "Jazz" Fiction Sans Music: books that imply musical content but actually have none. A series of sub-genres such as "Big Band and Swing," "Blues," "Pulp and Smut," and "Novelizations" are identified, providing examples of works that characterize these categories and offering readers with specialized interests an easy reference. Also included are two short-lists, one for short stories, the other for novels, giving readers who desire to learn more about jazz fiction suggestions on where to begin.David Rife's annotations qualify as short critical essays, generally providing a jargon-free, often witty presentation, making them a pleasure to read. Broad in scope, meticulously researched, and comprehensive with titles that have long been inaccessible, this definitive resource is essential for libraries and valuable to scholars and fans of jazz and literature.

Mission Impossible: My Life in Music is the engaging autobiography of Lalo Schifrin, the musician, conductor, and composer of more than 60 jazz and classical works and over 100 film and television scores, including Bullitt, the Rush Hour series, Cool Hand Luke, The Dead Pool, Tango, The Fox, Voyage of the Damned, The Amityville Horror, The Sting II, and Mission Impossible. Edited by Richard Palmer, this autobiography is a journey from Schifrin's formative years in Argentina to the classical and jazz atmospheres in Paris in the 1950s; and from his jazz career in the United States with Dizzy Gillespie from 1958-1963 to his development as a film and television composer from 1963 to the present. Organized in eight parts, the book reflects on Schifrin's cosmopolitan experience and provides impressions and vignettes of the extraordinary people with whom he worked. As a composer whose works bridge three main musical styles—jazz, classical, and film and television—his autobiography offers invaluable insights on all three genres, as well as politics, literature, and travel. This significant volume includes over 30 photos, appendixes listing Schifrin's works, and a discography, as well as an audio CD featuring some of Schifrin's greatest compositions.