American musicians : fifty-six portraits in jazz / Whitney Balliett.
| Author/creator |
Balliett, Whitney |
| Format | Book and Print |
| Publication Info | New York : Oxford University Press, 1986. |
| Description | x, 415 pages ; 24 cm |
| Subject(s) |
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| Contents | Panassié, Delaunay et Cie (Hugues Pannassie and Charles Delaunay) -- For the comfort of the people (Joe "King" Oliver) -- Ferdinand la Menthe (Jelly Roll Morton) -- Le Grand Bechet (Sidney Bechet) -- The blues is a slow story (Henry "Red" Allen) -- New York drummers (Tommy Benford, Freddie Moore, Sonny Greer) -- Starting at the top (Jabbo Smith) -- Light everywhere (Adolphus "Doc" Cheatham) -- Fats (Fats Waller) -- Sunshine always opens out (Earl Hines) -- Out here again (Mary Lou Williams) -- Coleman Hawkins -- A good one-two (Jimmy McPartland) -- Davy Tough -- Even his feet look sad (Pee Wee Russell) -- More ingredients (Bobby Hackett) -- Hodes' blues (Art Hodes) -- Back from Valhalla (Jess Stacy) -- Big T (Jack Teagarden) -- Three tones (Vic Dickenson) -- Little jazz (Roy Eldridge) -- Big Sid (Sidney Catlett) -- The music is more important (Red Norvo) -- Art Tatum -- You must start well and you must end well (Stephane Grappelli and Django Reinhardt) -- Demi-centennial (Joe Bushkin) -- Super-drummer (Buddy Rich) -- Pres (Lester Young) -- Like a family (Modern Jazz Quartet) -- Einfuhling (Ellis Larkins) -- Being a genius (Erroll Garner) -- Zoot and Louise (Zoot Sims) -- The key of D is daffodil yellow (Marian McPartland) -- Super chops (Dave McKenna) -- The Westchester kids (Bob Wilber) -- Easier than working (Dick Wellstood) -- A day with the Duke (Duke Ellington) -- Mingus at peace (Charles Mingus) -- Joe Wilder -- The answer is yes (Jim Hall) -- Here and abroad (Art Farmer) -- Poet (Tommy Flanagan) -- walk to the park (Elvin Jones) -- Ten levels (Lee Konitz) -- A true improviser (Warne Marsh) -- Good, careful melody (Michael Moore) -- A decent life (Gene Bertoncini) -- Ornette (Ornette Coleman) -- Cecil (Cecil Taylor). |
| Abstract | This is the author's long-awaited "big book." In it are all the jazz profiles he has written for The New Yorker during the past 24 years. These include his famous early portraits of Pee Wee Russell, Red Allen, Earl Hines, and Mary Lou Williams, done when these giants were in full flower; his recent reconstructions of the lives of such legends as Art Tatum, Coleman Hawkins, Jack Teagarden, Zoot Sims, and Dave Tough; His quick but indelible glimpses into the daily (or nocturnal) lives of Duke Ellington and Charles Mingus; and his vivid pictures of such on-the-scene masters as Red Norvo, Ornette Coleman, Buddy Rich, Elvin Jones, Art Farmer, Michael Moore, and Tommy Flanagan. Also included are such lesser known but invaluable players as Art Hodes, Jabbo Smith, Joe Wilder, Warne Marsh, Gene Bertoncini, Joe Bushkin, and Marie Marcus. All these profiles make the reader feel, as one observer has pointed out, that he is "sitting with Balliett and his subject and listening in." The book can be taken as a kind of history of jazz, as well as a biographical encyclopedia of many of its most important performers. It can also be regarded as a model of American prose. |
| Local note | Little-254297 |
| General note | A collection of essays originally appearing principally in the New Yorker. |
| LCCN | 86012491 |
| ISBN | 0195037588 |
Available Items
| Library | Location | Call Number | Status | Item Actions | |
| Music | Closed Stacks - Ask at Circulation Desk | ML395 .B34 1986 | ✔ Available | Place Hold |