American musicians II: seventy-two portraits in jazz
1997; Association of College and Research Libraries; Volume: 34; Issue: 08 Linguagem: Inglês
10.5860/choice.34-4377
ISSN1943-5975
Tópico(s)Music History and Culture
ResumoWhen Whitney Balliett's American Musicians first appeared in fall of 1986, acclaim it received was universal. Leonard Feather, writing in The Los Angeles Times, said other now living can write with comparable grace and equal enthusiasm about everyone from Jack Teagarden and Art Tatum to Cecil Taylor and Ornette And Bruce Cook in The New Leader called book the quintessential Whitney Balliett, cream of cream, collection that leaves no doubt about his strength. Now greatly expanded with sixteen new essays, American Musicians II remains superb introduction to giants of jazz, or as Balliett himself calls it, a highly personal encyclopedia, series of close accounts of how beautiful music grew, flourished, and (possibly) began long trek back to its native silences. Breathtaking in its scope, book features Balliett's singular portraits of jazz greats who have shaped this uniquely American tradition from its earliest days to present, from inimitable innovators like Joe King Oliver and Jelly Roll Morton, to swing-era mainstays Fats Waller and Lester Young, to avant-garde pioneers such as Cecil Taylor and Ornette Coleman. We are treated to profiles of Pee Wee Russell, Red Allen, Earl Hines, and Mary Lou Williams, written when they were at height of their powers; reconstructions of lives of Art Tatum, Coleman Hawkins, Jack Teagarden, Zoot Sims, and Dave Tough; quick but indelible glimpses into daily (or nocturnal) lives of Duke Ellington and Charles Mingus; and vivid portrayals of such modern masters as Red Norvo, Buddy Rich, Elvin Jones, Art Farmer, Michael Moore, and Tommy Flanagan. This new edition adds essays on such major musicians as Benny Goodman, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, George Shearing, and Paul Desmond. In forty years that he has written for The New Yorker, Whitney Balliett has earned reputation as America's foremost jazz critic. The late Philip Larkin described him as writer who brings jazz journalism to verge of poetry. Alistair Cook wrote that he is, without rival in sight, most literate and knowledgeable living on jazz. And Gene Lees called him one of most graceful essayists in English language on any subject. Now, with second edition of American Musicians in hand, music lovers can experience Balliett's peerless observations on jazz scene, as he takes you into hearts and minds of jazz's great practitioners.
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