Rabbit's Blues

Rabbit's Blues
Author: Con Chapman
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 248
Release: 2019
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0190653906

In his eulogy of saxophonist Johnny Hodges (1907-70), Duke Ellington ended with the words, "Never the world's most highly animated showman or greatest stage personality, but a tone so beautiful it sometimes brought tears to the eyes--this was Johnny Hodges. This is Johnny Hodges." Hodges' unforgettable tone resonated throughout the jazz world over the greater part of the twentieth century. Benny Goodman described Hodges as "by far the greatest man on alto sax that I ever heard," and Charlie Parker compared him to Lily Pons, the operatic soprano. As a teenager, Hodges developed his playing style by imitating Sidney Bechet, the New Orleans soprano sax player, then honed it in late-night cutting sessions in New York and a succession of bands lead by Chick Webb, Willie "The Lion" Smith, and Luckey Roberts. In 1928 he joined Duke Ellington, beginning an association that would continue, with one interruption, until Hodges' death. Hodges' celebrated technique and silky tone marked him then, and still today, as one of the most important and influential saxophone players in the history of jazz. As the first ever biography on Johnny Hodges, Rabbit's Blues details his place as one of the premier artists of the alto sax in jazz history, and his role as co-composer with Ellington.

Paul Bowles on Music

Paul Bowles on Music
Author: Paul Bowles
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2003-09-02
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9780520236554

"In this wonderfully engaging and informative collection we hear the voice of a different Paul Bowles. Writing on a wide range of subjects--jazz, film music, classical music, popular music, ethnic music--he is direct, opinionated, incisive, analytical, humorous, and passionate."—Millicent Dillon, author of You Are Not I: A Portrait of Paul Bowles

The Inside Songs of Amiri Baraka

The Inside Songs of Amiri Baraka
Author: Aldon Lynn Nielsen
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 148
Release: 2021-06-28
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 3030757587

The Inside Songs of Amiri Baraka examines the full length of Baraka’s discography as a poet recording with musicians as well as his contributions to jazz and R & B, beginning with his earliest studio recordings in 1965 and continuing to the last year of his life, 2014. This recorded history traces his evolution from the era of Beat poetry and “projective verse,” through the period of the Black Arts Movement and cultural nationalism, and on to his commitments to “third world Marxism,” which characterized the last decades of his life. The music enfolding Baraka’s recitations ranges from traditional African drumming, to doo wop, rhythm and blues, soul and the avant garde jazz that was his great love and the subject of so much of his writing, and includes both in-studio sessions and live concert performances. This body of work offers a rare opportunity to think about not only jazz/poetry, but the poet in the recording studio and the relations of text to score.

Steve Earle

Steve Earle
Author: David McGee
Publisher: Hal Leonard Corporation
Total Pages: 344
Release: 2005
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9780879308421

"Along the way we see the growth of Earle's political consciousness and his courage in tackling thorny topics such as "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh (in the song "John Walker's Blues"), his opposition to the death penalty, and his recent appearance in support of Iraq war protester Cindy Sheehan. Author David McGee also examines the early '70s east Texas singer-songwriter scene - where Earle met his future mentors Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt - and the rise of the New Traditionalist and Americana movements.".

Making Records

Making Records
Author: Phil Ramone
Publisher: Hachette Books
Total Pages: 478
Release: 2007-10-09
Genre: Music
ISBN: 1401388299

Sinatra. Streisand. Dylan. Pavarotti. McCartney. Sting. Madonna. What do these musicians have in common besides their super-stardom? They have all worked with legendary music producer Phil Ramone. For almost five decades, Phil Ramone has been a force in the music industry. He has produced records and collaborated with almost every major talent in the business. There is a craft to making records, and Phil has spent his life mastering it. For the first time ever, he shares the secrets of his trade. Making Records is a fascinating look "behind the glass" of a recording studio. From Phil's exhilarating early days recording jazz and commercial jingles at A&R, to his first studio, and eventual legendary producer status, Phil allows you to sit in on the sessions that created some of the most memorable music of the 20th century -- including Frank Sinatra's Duets album, Bob Dylan's Blood on the Tracks, Ray Charles's Genius Loves Company and Paul Simon's Still Crazy After All These Years. In addition to being a ringside seat for contemporary popular music history, Making Records is an unprecedented tutorial on the magic behind what music producers and engineers do. In these pages, Phil offers a rare peek inside the way music is made . . . illuminating the creative thought processes behind some of the most influential sessions in music history. This is a book about the art that is making records -- the way it began, the way it is now, and everything in between.

Cadence

Cadence
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 880
Release: 2000
Genre: Blues (Music)
ISBN: