Stride! [Hardcover] Review

Harlem stride piano is one of the most joyous of all jazz styles, and there has long been a need for a good book on the subject.
The book offers a number of historical and contextualising chapters before a seriesof profiles of the major players. It is the profiles that are the realproblem. Firstly, Earl Hines, great as he was, was not a stride player.Second, the profiles offer very little new information or analysis. Many ofthem are largely given over to identifying out-of-print LPs by the artistsconcerned, information that would be better presented in a table. Some ofthe profiles make use of interesting original interview material, and some,such as the profiles of Luckey Roberts and the great Donald Lambert,usefully add to the body of knowledge about the player. Others are littlemore than digests of well known information.
Th book contains a number oftranscriptions, including solos or choruses by James P. Johnson, DonaldLambert, Hank Duncan and Fats Waller.
This book is rather a missedopportunity. It is well worth reading for those interested in the area, butit is by no means a serious academic study of the stride style and itspractitioners.This book is a useful addition to the literature, but westill await a definitive work.

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Product Description:
Stride! traces the stride piano style from its roots in minstrel shows and ragtime, through the contributions of itinerant entertainers, to its joyful birth in Harlem, where it became known as Harlem Piano. Stride developed over a period spanning World War I to the depression years, though younger players maintain its traditions today. It is a musical style marked by friendly rivalry and shared pleasures. Drawing on the authors' personal interviews and biographies, the book traces stride from generation to generation, from the originators Eubie Blake, Luckey Roberts, and James P. Johnson, through a succession of pianists like Willie the Lion Smith. Fell and Vinding also examine its influence on Duke Ellington, Fats Waller, Joe Sullivan, and Johnny Guarnieri, concluding with third and fourth generations that include Ralph Sutton, Dick Hyman, and Dick Wellstood. The authors describe the exceptional Donald Lambert from personal experience. Throughout, influences are traced and documented by way of CD and LP citations. "Stride!" finishes the tune with appendixes that itemize the compositions of Luckey Roberts, Fats Waller and Willie the Lion Smith.

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