Writing Jazz: Conversations with Critics and Biographers

[Dan Gould]

By my friend (and contributor to the Percy France website) Sascha Feinstein:

The writers include Ricky Riccardi, Whitney Balliett, Bob Blumenthal, Stanley Crouch, Linda Dahl, Maxine Gordon, Farah Jasmine Griffin, John Edward Hasse, Willard Jenkins, Hettie Jones, Robin D. G. Kelley, Laurie Pepper, Tom Piazza, and A. B. Spellman.

 

John Gennari, author of Blowin' Hot and Cool: Jazz and Its Critics, writes: "If I had to choose the one book that best captures what Whitney Balliett called “the secret emotional center in jazz,” it would be Writing Jazz. Sascha Feinstein’s conversations with a dazzling array of writers uncovers a lot about jazz’s “extraordinary little kingdoms and fiefdoms and neighborhoods,” as Tom Piazza describes jazz’s intricate ecosystem. But the true magic of this book, the reason both seasoned jazz nerds and curious neophytes will love it, is this: through engrossing dialogue and storytelling, Writing Jazz illuminates more clearly than ever why and how jazz takes hold of its listeners and never lets them go."

 

https://sunypress.edu/Books/W/Writing-Jazz

 

Coupon code SNWS25 gets you 30% off the list price which knocked my copy down to just over $28 with shipping.

No idea how long code lasts.

[Big Beat Steve]

Having just read the description on the linked website, did I get this right? Put simply, this book is about writers writing about their writing (and possibly that of other writers) about jazz?

Hmmm ...
Aside from the fact that on the face of certain indicators I might have to consider myself a "seasoned jazz nerd" (with a penchant for reading about jazz too), and therefore possibly part of the target audience of this book, I wonder : Is it through writing about jazz or rather through listening to jazz (that is or is not written about) that "jazz takes hold of its listeners and never lets them go" ?  😉

Edited 4 hours ago by Big Beat Steve

[clifford_thornton]

Could be interesting -- the process of writing about music from different perspectives is something that seems valuable.

[Dan Gould]

14 minutes ago, Big Beat Steve said:

Having just read the description on the linked website, did I get this right? Put simply, this book is about writers writing about their writing (and possibly that of other writers) about jazz?

Hmmm ...
Aside from the fact that on the face of certain indicators I might have to consider myself a "seasoned jazz nerd" (with a penchant for reading about jazz too), and therefore possibly part of the target audience of this book, I wonder : Is it through writing about jazz or rather through listening to jazz (that is or is not written about) that "jazz takes hold of its listeners and never lets them go" ?  😉

Conversation about writing about jazz.

[king ubu]

4 minutes ago, clifford_thornton said:

Could be interesting -- the process of writing about music from different perspectives is something that seems valuable.

Agreed, indeed! Thanks Dan! But I wonder: free international shipping - can that be correct?

[Big Beat Steve]

1 hour ago, Dan Gould said:

Conversation about writing about jazz.

So they converse (i.e. are interviewed) about how each of them writes about jazz (and approaches the task of writing about jazz)? 

Anyway, that does sound interesting. And I'm tempted. Though who knows ... a book like this with the "panel" also comprising a representative or two of well-experienced READERS of jazz (i.e. their PUBLIC) might perhaps have added some spice to the subject ... To open up perspectives ... (One noted jazz book reviewer from around here - the now-retired former head of the Darmstadt Jazz Institute - would have come to mind as a worthy candidate)

At any rate, one overriding criterion for anyone writing about jazz (e.g. after having read these interviews) is as simple as this: "Get your facts right!!" 😉

 

BTW, where's that "free international shipping" info? I did not see anything to that effect on the book website.

Edited 2 hours ago by Big Beat Steve

[Dan Gould]

23 minutes ago, king ubu said:

Agreed, indeed! Thanks Dan! But I wonder: free international shipping - can that be correct?

I had to pay $6 and you get free international shipping? Doesn't seem fair but 30% off makes it a really good deal then.