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 February 3 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 February 3 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.

[king ubu]

On 2/3/2025 at 6:21 PM, Dan Gould said:

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.

20-25$ would be realistic for shipping, I think... probably after passing the order they will reach out about that? I have only gone through it until before payment and then stopped because it seemed wrong.

[king ubu]

Okay, tried completing the order but it fails - seems they don't ship to Europe at all. Too bad, but worth a try.

[Big Beat Steve]

4 hours ago, king ubu said:

Okay, tried completing the order but it fails - seems they don't ship to Europe at all. Too bad, but worth a try.

Preorder price 27.99 EUR on amazon.de.
An option for you, even if you are not in Germany?

[king ubu]

4 hours ago, Big Beat Steve said:

Preorder price 27.99 EUR on amazon.de.
An option for you, even if you are not in Germany?

Thanks, it is indeed - didn't check yet (one thing I'm really weary of is all the cheap - and not so cheap, price-wise - print on demand crappily crappily printed books amazon is selling nowadays ... but with a new book there's hope at least in the first few months they'll sell decent copies).

[Big Beat Steve]

I understand your wariness about print-on-demand books. 

Several of those I've bought at Amazon in recent years have turned out to be print-on-demand books too, but I really cannot complain about their printing and (paperback) binding quality. And I have a hunch that some of these "niche" books would not even have appeared (let alone remain in print for any length of time) if the print-on-demand method had not existed.
My purchases that turned out to be print-on-demand (all bought fairly soon after the books appeared) with tell-tale info on the final page include: "Soul Jazz" by Bob Porter (Xlibris, Lexington, KY), "Jazz With a Beat" by Tad Richards and "In WIth The In Crowd" by Mike Smith (both Ingram Content Group, Milton Keynes, UK). But the quality of the books really is OK to me.
I wonder what the recently-preordered paperback version of the Don Byas bio will turn out to be. 😉

Edited February 8 by Big Beat Steve

[king ubu]

Yeah, mostly they're okay, but I've had some cost 30€ and turn up without 90° corners, cracks in covers (or even backs) etc. ... what started as a book dealer has generally gotten really bad at selling books (and good at supporting fascism) ... I've had plenty of new books ordered that were never delivered, i.e. the Ella Fitzgerald bio ... just gotten a new delivery estimate e-mail monthly for years, and when I canceled and created a new order for the paperback, the same thing started anew ... and of course the poor sobs in customer service have no clue. So I'm generally weary of them ... only thing that works reliably is major label music (classical CD box-sets mostly) that I pre-order or order right upon release ... if you wait a month or two, the same games started anew: monthly delivery estimate updates ... I've got a few order that have been running for two years, it'ss pathetic ... I just settled into accepting those items are oop, while amazon listed them as "in stock" for months and months - and sure I contacted customer service, see above ...)

For the Ella book, currently they say 3 copies of the hardcover in stock, the paperback oop - I never got neither.

https://www.amazon.de/Becoming-Ella-Fitzgerald-Transformed-American/dp/039324105X/

Sorry for the off topic excurse about lamentable american billionaires doing what they do best 🙃