Which jazz book are you reading right now?

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

i dont do books, but if i saw this for $5 i would totally get it- this one is $80 on ebay

 

[JSngry]

You do 78s but you don't do books? Please advise.

[jeffcrom]

56 minutes ago, chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez said:

i dont do books, but if i saw this for $5 i would totally get it- this one is $80 on ebay

 

That's had a place of honor on my shelves for many years, and I refer to it often.

[HutchFan]

Picked this up for a few bucks at a used bookstore a while back . . . 

[sidewinder]

5 hours ago, HutchFan said:

Picked this up for a few bucks at a used bookstore a while back . . . 

The first book on jazz I ever read ! (along with the Rex Harris travesty). Still have my copy.

[Gheorghe]

On ‎30‎.‎09‎.‎2018 at 3:59 AM, HutchFan said:

Picked this up for a few bucks at a used bookstore a while back . . . 

Purchased it in the 70´s . Never forgot the interview with Miles, he seems to like Leonard but is difficult and contradictory as ever. Leonard asking those personal questions whether if Miles would help out his familiy , if he has family ties and all that , and Miles first saying "I live for myself" "bull....sh like sittin down at tea..."  and then telling Leonard that if he would need money he would give it to him if he can afford it......very funny......

On ‎27‎.‎08‎.‎2018 at 5:57 PM, mikeweil said:

I read the Dameron book on my Kindle last year - plenty of new insights into the man's life and work.

A few days ago I finished Sheila E. memoir - she tells about many nasty habits in the pop business .....

There´s two Dameron books , one was published in more recent years, and another one is older and I think it´s a british author. I have both of them

[Big Beat Steve]

On 30.9.2018 at 2:51 AM, JSngry said:

You do 78s but you don't do books? Please advise.

Not a rare occurrence in the field of music collecting (not just jazz). Collecting music (in the sense of buying it more thoroughly than an average music consumer would do) - yes. But reading about it, either for discographical reference or background knowledge of the history of the artists etc.? No ... what for? "Reading? What's that? Too academical! Keeps me from LISTENING!" That's the impression I got in a number of cases, strangely enough.

[HutchFan]

2 hours ago, Gheorghe said:

Purchased it in the 70´s . Never forgot the interview with Miles, he seems to like Leonard but is difficult and contradictory as ever. Leonard asking those personal questions whether if Miles would help out his familiy , if he has family ties and all that , and Miles first saying "I live for myself" "bull....sh like sittin down at tea..."  and then telling Leonard that if he would need money he would give it to him if he can afford it......very funny......

Yep. Miles was a welter of contradictions for sure.

[Gheorghe]

Bill Cole: Miles Davis, a musical biography.

Actually this was my first book about Miles. I was a youngster and my only other book about jazz was the german "Jazzbuch".

But this one really gave more informations about the recordings I allready knew, especially the 50´s and 60´s stuff.

Some of it reads funny if I think about it. About his appearance in 1949 at the Paris Festival, Bill Cole writes that Miles was "bored". For sure: Miles doesn´t sound like a bored man on that, and he himself stated that he was fascinated by Paris and fell in love with Juiliette Greco.

And about the now old, then "new" stuff from the early 70´s. Bill Cole dares to say that the stuff is "an insult on the intelect of people" ......

But I always like to read a few passages from it just for historical points.....

[JSngry]

Bill Cole is (was?) an annoyance.

[felser]

I have a Michel Ruppli Savoy discography coming, and will dive into that when I receive it.

[Simon Weil]

On ‎02‎/‎10‎/‎2018 at 1:07 PM, Big Beat Steve said:

But reading about it, either for discographical reference or background knowledge of the history of the artists etc.? No ... what for? "Reading? What's that? Too academical! Keeps me from LISTENING!"

What about the discussion we had about Rock books? Or are you just being provocative?

[JSngry]

2 hours ago, felser said:

I have a Michel Ruppli Savoy discography coming, and will dive into that when I receive it.

Does that contain all the R&B stuff? Some/all of the gospel?

[Big Beat Steve]

1 hour ago, Simon Weil said:

What about the discussion we had about Rock books? Or are you just being provocative?

I am not so much actually referring to this forum but to advanced music listeners (who might well be termed collectors) in general - many of them in what is termed "rock" - who just do not seem to be too interested in READING up on their musical preferences in the sense that they (sort of) collect books or mags on their music too. An impression I have gotten in various discussions.
So I am not that surprised (maybe less than JSngry) by Chewy's position.
And yes - I am biased, considering myself a collector of printed matter on my preferred styles of music too..

 

1 hour ago, JSngry said:

Does that contain all the R&B stuff? Some/all of the gospel?

Yes, both R&B and gospel.

The foreword says "All known details on jazz, blues, rhythm and blues and gospel sessions are included ...".
However, it also says (in the 1980 edition): "Savoy files ... are far from complete - this is especially true for early sessions and for 1966-75 sessions. Files covering this last period had yet been found, and listings for these years have been limited to jazz releases and index of gospel albums".

Apart from their entries in the chronological session listings, the gospel series are scattered throughout the book in numerical order.

Edited October 3, 2018 by Big Beat Steve

[JSngry]

I don't think the files jazz issues from those years (1966-75...and what jazz did they release after Bill Barron's Motivation, which was, what, 71-72? until hooking up with Arista) are going to be found, and really doubt they exist. My understanding is that what few releases there were either spec work done by a producer (e.g. Bill Dixon) or essentially vanity projects produced by the artist with few if any real contractual commitments from the label.

I don't claim that with 100% certainty though.

[Larry Kart]

The late Michael James' "Ten Modern Jazzmen" is a must read. Not that I agree with everything James says, nor am I in sync with the sometimes presumptuous manner in which says what he says, but it's a book that probably will stimulate your thinking as few books on jazz do -- it certainly has mine.

[BeBop]

1 hour ago, Larry Kart said:

The late Michael James' "Ten Modern Jazzmen" is a must read. Not that I agree with everything James says, nor am I in sync with the sometimes presumptuous manner in which says what he says, but it's a book that probably will stimulate your thinking as few books on jazz do -- it certainly has mine.

I've got the original circa 1960 version (back in the United States).  Has this been re-issued?  It would be nice if it was.

[Larry Kart]

2 hours ago, BeBop said:

I've got the original circa 1960 version (back in the United States).  Has this been re-issued?  It would be nice if it was.

I've got a used copy of the original. Don't think it's been re-issued.

[Gheorghe]

Of course I´m a big fan of Fats Navarro.

But I like this book not only because it´s a great biography. It´s a very good style analises and almost everything Fats recorded is well documented. It´s really a great book.

[Big Beat Steve]

But for a non-musician the sections that go BEYOND the biography and the purely disocogrpahical details are a TOUGH read.

[Gheorghe]

9 minutes ago, Big Beat Steve said:

But for a non-musician the sections that go BEYOND the biography and the purely disocogrpahical details are a TOUGH read.

Yes, I can imagine that.

I can´t say about me that I´m "a musician" since I don´t earn a living out of music, but I´ve been playing for 40 years and was glad to find a book that´s also interesting from the musician´s point of view. It´s very interesting to read which songs and melodies Fats quotes in his soloes, since some of them are very significant and you think you might know what it is, but don´t. So the authors really made a good job doing such a complete analysis of Fat´s solos.

[Gheorghe]

I just have finished the book about Sun Ra "Space is the Place".

[BillF]

A wonderful read. The chapter on Pee Wee Marquette is priceless!

Edited January 18, 2019 by BillF

[Gheorghe]

1 hour ago, BillF said:

A wonderfu read. The chapter on Pee Wee Marquette is priceless!

Oh, I didn´t know about that book, I think this is something I need to have.

[paul secor]

3 hours ago, BillF said:

A wonderfu read. The chapter on Pee Wee Marquette is priceless!

 Great stories.