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City of Gabriels presents St. Louis's jazz history from 1895 to 1973. Highlighted with striking images from each era, this book describes the lively world of jazz from talents and personalities like Tom Turpin, Frank Trumbrauer, Singleton Palmer, Clark Terry, Jeanne Trevor, Willie Akins, Miles Davis, and countless others. City of Gabriels, written by St. Louis radio host Dennis Owsley, is a must for lovers of jazz. The book gives a needed insight into an enduring culture in St. Louis. Published in cooperation with The Sheldon Concert Hall and Art Galleries.
Pianist George Shearing is that rare thing, a European jazz musician who became a household name in the US, as a result of the "Shearing sound"—the recordings of his historic late 1940s quintet. Together with his unique "locked hands" approach to playing the piano, Shearing's quintet with guitar and vibraphone in close harmony to his own playing revolutionized small group jazz, and ensured that after seven years as Melody Maker's top British pianist, he achieved even greater success in America. His compositions have been recorded by everyone from Sarah Vaughan to Miles Davis, and his best known pieces include "Lullaby of Birdland", "She" and "Conception". His story is all the more remarkable because Shearing was born blind. His candid reminiscences include a behind the scenes experience of New York's 52nd Street in its heyday, as well as memories of a vast roll-call of professional colleagues that includes all the great names in jazz.
Kirk describes his life as a traveling jazz musician
The legendary study of the blues by one of America's premier writers and critics.
Feast your eyes on more than 300 of today s most creative, imaginative, and gorgeous hand-made guitarsall illustrated in full color and featuring information about the innovative artisans who created them. Meet guitar-making legends, such as C.F. Martin, Les Paul, and Leo Fender, who revolutionized the instrument s design. Discover why the past 25 years have seen an explosion of craftspeople who build guitars by hand, employing an attention to detail factories can t afford and using higher quality materials and more technical skill than in any previous era. Explore the various guitar styles used in a range of musical traditions, from blues to classical. Detailed information about each guitar s specifications, plus personal statements and anecdotes from the artisans about their work and techniques complete each entry. Rounding out the book is a Web directory and an index of luthiers. Players, craftspeople, collectors, and those who are simply fans of this popular instrument will find this volume irresistible "
With his catchphrase "Hi-de-ho" and his dramatic singing and dancing, Cab Calloway became the highest-earning African American bandleader of the 1930s. This book traces his remarkable career, his vocal innovations and his bandleading triumphs. It then follows his later career as a star of musical theater.
Joe Davis, the focus of The Melody Man enjoyed a 50-year career in the music industry, which covered nearly every aspect of the business. He hustled sheet music in the 1920s, copyrighted compositions by artists as diverse as Fats Waller, Carson Robison, Otis Blackwell, and Rudy Vallee, oversaw hundreds of recording session, and operated several record companies beginning in the 1940s. Davis also worked fearlessly to help insure that black recording artists and song writers gained equal treatment for their work. Much more than a biography, this book is an investigation of the role played by music publishers during much of the twentieth century. Joe Davis was not a music "great" but he was one...
Dizzy Gillespie was one of the most important and best loved musicians in jazz history. With his dark glasses, goatee, jive talk, and upraised trumpet bell, he was the hipster who most personified bebop. The musical heir to Louis Armstrong, he created the basic jazz trumpet-playing style and dazzled aficionados and popular audiences alike for over 50 years. In this first full biography, Alyn Shipton covers all aspects of Dizzy's remarkable life and career, taking us through his days as a flashy trumpet player in the swing bands of the 1930s, his innovative bebop work in the 1940s, the worldwide fame and adoration he earned through his big band tours in the 1950s, and the many recordings and ...
The critic Norman Granz called tenor saxophonist Lester Young "the greatest musician I have heard on the instrument." Douglas Ramsey speaks of Young as "the gentle bedeviled genius whose vision of beauty found expression even though he was hounded throughout his life by nearly every demon the twentieth century had managed to spawn." This is his story, told with love and candor.
Some singers included in this book are Sippie Wallace, Victoria Spivey, Edith Wilson, and Alberta Hunter.