Deep in a Dream: The Long Night of Chet Baker [Hardcover] Review

While this book will certainly make compelling reading for any Chet Baker fan, or any follower of the 1950s-60s jazz scene, be prepared for a frigid treatment of the subject. Mr. Gavin may have a knack for writing about jazz musicians, but he neither understands nor appreciates the music itself one whit. There was a definite gap in the Chet Baker bio market, and Gavin has filled it. Unfortunately, he has not only taken the same angle that the tabloids always did, covering the drugs-and-domestic-violence aspect of Chet Baker, but he has gone them one better--to suit his theme he paints Baker not as a hip musician, which he was, but as a bumbling Okie square, who could never keep up with the music's 'advances'. Baker's conservative opinions of free jazz and fusion, to name just one example, are held up to ridicule. He is dismissed as being 'incapable' of such 'catharsis', as if his opinion were formed out of jealousy or open-mouthed incomprehension. In fact, Miles Davis, who is repeatedly held up as an example of what a great musician is made of so Baker can pale in comparison, despised free jazz. For that matter, many very hip black jazz musicians hated free jazz, and fusion as well. Louis Armstrong thought bebop itself was a joke. All the usual jazz cliches are resurrected here: white jazz is intellectual and precise but lacks feeling, while black jazz is earthy, charged with life and dripping with soul, etc.Except for frequent put-downs of Baker's music for its alleged "lack of feeling" (what, if not feeling, is Baker's music known for?) Gavin barely mentions any of Baker's recorded legacy, aside from occasional session details which always involved Chet's forgetting the date because he was stoned, and his subsequent lack of blowing power when finally coaxed into the studio. His quiet, intimate music is repeatedly dismissed as 'cold' or 'dead', either because Gavin apparently cannot understand feeling unless it is loud, sweaty and intense, or because any other analysis would complicate his single-minded theme. History features no shortage of creeps, louses or idiot savants who packed their music with feeling--Mozart anyone? Charlie Parker? Miles? Then what's all the fuss about? Why do we listen to this man's music 30, 40 and 50 years after it's been recorded? Why aren't we listening to Abbey Lincoln's or Albert Ayler's or any of the other cathartic free jazz or fusion that Gavin holds up as supreme examples of hip? If you didn't know before reading the book, you won't know after.

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Marian McPartland's Jazz World: All in Good Time (Music in American Life) [Hardcover] Review

If you're a fan of Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz show on NPR, you'll adore reading this fabulous book about her life in the music business. Music flows through her writing. It's clear that her radio skills stem from her uncanny ability to really listen to what's going on around her, and she achieves the same warm and intelligent result with her writing. As my friend Daryl Sherman says, Marian is one of the wonders of the world.

[ASIN:0879308826 Piano Girl: A Memoir]]

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Product Description:
In this collection of musical portraits, jazz pianist and radio host Marian McPartland pays tribute to such beloved and legendary figures as Benny Goodman, Bill Evans, Joe Morello, Paul Desmond, Alec Wilder, Mary Lou Williams, and others. McPartland's reminiscences and anecdotes about these jazz greats are informed by her encyclopedic knowledge of their music, making this richly detailed collection an important addition to the literature of jazz.
In a preface to this new edition -- originally published as All in Good Time -- McPartland extends her commentary to include details of her long-running National Public Radio show "Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz" and memories of her late husband, famed Chicago trumpeter Jimmy McPartland.

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The Vince Guaraldi Collection: Piano (Artist Transcriptions) [Paperback] Review

I bought this together with Vince Guaraldi - Greatest Hits, both containing a lot of songs I really wanted to play on the piano myself. That combination has allowed me to hear what Vince played while also reading through the music to see just what it is he played. Without exception, I've found the written music exactly true to what Vince recorded, including pick up notes, tricky min-maj-min progressions, arpeggios, diminished 9th chords, and what-not, and it has made some previously unapproachable passages much easier to understand. I've also been able to use the book as a sort of learning tool, getting a feel for what a jazz musician really tries to accomplish when he sits down and plays a piece. I would like to have seen some fingering indications included, and without those, I think some beginners will not be able to do much with this work. And personally, I didn't find the performance notations particularly useful ("laid back" doesn't really convey much to me), but like I said, I also purchased a CD of Vince's music, so I already have an idea of what sort of sound I want to achieve. Other than those two minor points, I can't find anything wrong with this edition. The binding is "lay flat" perfect bound, so the pages stay glued together but pull away from the spine, allowing this book to retain a crisp appearance and feel even after the pages are pulled open on a music stand. Guaraldi fans and aspiring jazz pianists will gain a lot from this work.

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Product Description:
Along with Dave Brubeck, Vince Guaraldi was one of the leading pianists to rise to prominence from the California Bay Area scene. Originally a Latin jazz musician, his recording of "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" is one of the best-selling jazz records of all time. Guaraldi later composed the beloved and timeless music for the Peanuts television specials. This folio spans Guaraldi's multi-faceted career, with note-for-note transcriptions of 9 terrific songs: Cast Your Fate to the Wind * Christmas Time Is Here * Greensleeves * Linus and Lucy * Manha De Carnaval * O Tannenbaum * Outra Vez * Samba De Orfeu * Star Song. Includes a biography and a discography.

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Cool Jazz: Jazz Piano Solos Series [Paperback] Review

The Good:

I really like the arrangements in this book. Many books aimed at beginners will oversimplify the songs so that they don't sound that good when you play them. This book contains arrangements which can be played by intermediate level players and sound really good. I particularly like the Miles Davis songs. I would give this book five stars if my copy had held together better.

The Bad:

After only a few days of the book started to fall apart at the spine as a result of me trying to get it to open flat. This has not happened with any other book I have owned for such a short period of time. I was able to get Kinkos to comb-bind it for $2.99 and it is now opens flat.

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Product Description:
18 tunes from the '50s and '60s jazz cats who invented "cool," including: All Blues (Miles Davis, George Benson) * A Ballad (Gerry Mulligan, Stan Getz) * Con Alma (Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz) * Django (Modern Jazz Quartet, Vince Guaraldi) * Epistrophy (Thelonious Monk) * Killer Joe (Art Farmer, Benny Golson) * Nardis (Bill Evans, Joe Henderson) * So What (Miles Davis, Chet Baker) * Take Five (Dave Brubeck, George Benson) * and more.

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