Dvorák to Duke Ellington: A Conductor Explores America's Music and Its African American Roots [Hardcover] Review

Maurice Peress is an inspiring guide to the main roads and byways of American music. A conductor of distinction and a writer, scholar and thinker of substance, he offers a combination of personal reminiscences and exciting historical discoveries. He is a leading expert on Dvorak and his time, and offers fresh new insights into the material. His original research on Dvorak's American years has been quite influential in the development of this field more broadly and thus he may be considered the "Dean" of American Dvorak scholarship.

This is a splendid book to read straight through, or to browse and enjoy.

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Product Description:
In From Dvorak to Duke Ellington the prominent symphony conductor Maurice Peress describes his career and experiences with American music and musicians. Peress conducted the world premiere of Leonard Bernstein's Mass, worked with Duke Ellington on the Suite from Black Brown and Beige and Queenie Pie, and reconstructed and recreated historic American concerts at which Antheil's Ballet Mecanique, Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, and Ellington's Black, Brown, and Beige were first presented. Peress also revisits Dvorak's three year residency in 1892-95, the controversy that greeted his radical notion that composers turn to Negro music for inspiration, and the careers of his students who went on to teach Copeland, Gershwin, and Ellington.

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Lush Life: A Biography of Billy Strayhorn [Hardcover] Review

Billy Strayhorn'scontribution to the work of Duke Ellington is immeasurable--at last he is given his full due in David Hajdu's perceptive and insightful portrait of this largely unsung genius of 20th centurymusic. Hajdu's sensitive biography, derived from countless interviewswith friends, family and fellow musicians, reveals Strayhorn as a complex,creative individual who preferred to stay discreetly in Ellington's shadow throughout much of his life.It also provides a telling portrait of a manwho lived his life as a gay African-American musician completely out in the open during a time in this country when it was both difficult anddangerous to do so.Hajdu has givenus telling portraits as well of manyof Strayhorn's contemporaries such as Lena Horne, Ella Fitzgerald, JohnnyHodges, Ray Nance and the Duke himself who loved "Swea-Pea"(Strayhorn's nickname) as a part of himself.Not only a portrait of acreative, intellectual genius, "Lush Life"also gives us aninsightful look into the world of jazz and African-american popular musicthat grew out of an age of racism and discrimination.The concludingchapters that chronicle Strayhorn's involvement inthe civil rightsmovement of the early '60's andhis friendships with Martin Luther Kingand Medgar Evans and his own battle with the throat cancer that cut hislife short (at age fifty-one) areespecially powerful.Throughout thebook, Hajduprovides lively anecdotal writing while remaining a respectfuljournalist and chronicler of his subject.I highly recommend this book toanyone interested in jazz history, popular culture, orpurely for aportrait of an understated genius.

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Arranging Concepts Complete: The Ultimate Arranging Course for Today's Music (2718) [Plastic Comb] Review

A very detailed mathematical aproach to band arranging. Useful tables to cover all practical situations, mostly from the point of view of horn section arranging. Somewhat light on in terms of rhythm section arranging. This book doesn't aim to teach you WHAT to write, but if you already have some experience in band arranging and are familiar with extended chords and basic harmonic and melodic concepts, it will help to guide you through the labyrinth of endless musical possibilities. Band arranging from a jazz (thus also blues/rock/pop/show music etc) perspective, not so much concert band or wind orchestra.

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Product Description:
A comprehensive text that covers the characteristics and ranges of each instrument in the stage band; analyzing and arranging many musical styles, voice leading, passing chords, modulations, intros, endings, turn-arounds and orchestration.

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The Hollywood Bowl: Tales of Summer Nights [Illustrated] [Hardcover] Review

This is a wonderful history of the Hollywood Bowl.Chapters by various writers review the history of the physical plant, the administration, music, opera, dance, pop, rock, etc.There are even chapters on the audience and its activities.There are wonderful pictures and drawings.Some of the information has become slightly out of date, but the historical data is still valid.The only thing I felt was lacking was a high quality map of the facility;it's a confusing place and a good diagram would have helped me orient myself.

This is a great book for lovers of the performing arts and American pop culture.

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September in the Rain: The Life of Nelson Riddle (Book) [Hardcover] Review

Being a fan of both Nat King Cole's and Frank Sinatra's work, I was intrigued by this book about the man who was pretty much responsible for their successful run of hits in the 1950s and '60s. Not knowing much about Nelson Riddle other than his association with Cole, Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald and other singers he arranged material for, I found this book to be very interesting indeed.
Mr. Levinson's "September In The Rain" is a candid look at the life and career of Riddle, which certainly had its ups and downs. Riddle was able to create great music, but he suffered immensely in both his personal and professional life: one wife who turned to alcoholism to cope with her husband's indiscretions, and sometimes reacting with physical violence, and another, who was domineering and had no love for Riddle's children from his previous marriage, and isolated Riddle from people she didn't like; an overbearing and snobbish mother, a weak but loving father, various affairs (most notable was his torrid love affair with singer Rosemary Clooney), not being given credit when it was due, his complex relationship with Sinatra and his children, and much more. Riddle, as talented as he was, was at times doubtful of his abilities, and rarely ever smiled, because he was almost always saddened by SOMETHING and this was true throughout his life.
Reading this book, I found myself bordering between distain and sympathy for Riddle, reading about how he related to his children, the musicians in his orchestra, and the singers who worked with him. But it is my general feeling that Riddle was just like any other person who had a dysfunctional upbringing: it would carry over to his adult life, and ultimately shape who he was to become in later years. But one thing above all must be said: Nelson Riddle was indeed a musical genius, and created some of the most memorable musical arrangements ever of popular standards of the mid to late 20th century. For fans of this type of music, it is worth reading. Find out just what made this man a legend in his own time.

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Thelonious Monk: Originals & Standards [Paperback] Review

well first off you'll probably notice that there is no concrete description of the book's contents. and you'll probably think to yourself 'there's no way they'd make me spend that much for a book of measure numbers and (simplified) chord names without throwing in at least a few transcriptions of solos.'
ironically, you would be wrong, were that your thought. yes, this is a fake book. fine for improvising over, since it gives you pretty bland transcriptions of the melodies and the chord progressions. but don't expect to have any closer glimpse into the music of monk. this will not let you see what notes monk plays, won't let you see the true craft of the pianist.
i had hoped this would turn out to be something like 'the complete charlie parker,' which is to date the most helpful book of solo transcriptions i've found. this was not even close. it's pretty pathetic how few notes are on the few pages of this book. make sure you see a copy of the book before deciding whether it's worth your while or not.

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Product Description:
A collection of compositions by one of the most creative figures in the history of jazz. Expertly arranged, the works are accompanied by descriptive text.

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Kind of Blue: The Making of the Miles Davis Masterpiece [Paperback] Review

A surprisingly brisk read for a book of such ambitious scope, the author begins a full decade before the recording it chronicles. A wide range of subject matter - the evolution of jazz, Miles as an artist and creative voice, recording techniques, even the business of jazz marketing - are covered engagingly, intelligently and leave the reader with a better context in which to place this seminal recording.
Long-time fans, who know the music and the myths inside out, will marvel anew at the dedication Miles showed not only to his music, but in what can only be called his sentimentality in working with the other artists on the dates. His relationship with pianist Bill Evans is especially poignant.
The rise of modal jazz and its off-shoot from bop, along with the impact on the post-war generation of players is juxtaposed against a record label system willing to actually bid for jazz artists(!) and put real thought and resources into promoting their works. There is a tinge of nostalgia to the writing, though the author is not a contemporary of the original recording's release. This tone is far out-weighed by the realization that Kind of Blue really did mark a second (or third) Golden Age in jazz and that men the likes of Miles Davis - or Babe Ruth or Marlon Brando - seem not to walk among us much anymore.
In an age of celebrity profiles and Behind the Music "documentaries", Kahn's book shows us that every story has many stories, and he tells each with a respectful touch.

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Product Description:
Now in paperback: "A small treasure" (The New Yorker) and the best-selling account of the creation of a jazz classic.
This critically and commercially acclaimed tribute to the most popular jazz album of all time is now available in paperback. With transcriptions of the unedited session tapes; in-depth interviews with musicians; freshly discovered Columbia Records files; never-before-seen photographs; and a foreword by the last surviving member of the band, drummer Jimmy Cobb, Kind of Blue is a vital piece of music history-and will be essential for fans and scholars for years to come.

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Dizzy: The Life and Times of John Birks Gillespie [Hardcover] Review

This is by far the most revealing (because best researched), most fascinating, and best written biography about Dizzy Gillespie and his times yet available. Uniquely informative musical explanations of Dizzy's contribitions to be-bop and his use of Afro-Cuban elements in jazz, propelling that music from the Swing Era into jazz of today and tomorrow. Also presents the social and historical context of Dizzy's story, from cotton picking in Cheraw,SC to world renown and jazz immortality. Only thing not explained, because it's unexplainable: how and why he was gifted with and then powerfully developed such prodigious talent -- the Mozart of jazz!

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Product Description:

Dizzy Gillespie secured his place in the jazz pantheon as one of the most expressive and virtuosic improvisers in the history of music. More important is that he was one of its great innovators. As a primary creator of the bebop and Afro-Cuban revolutions, he twice changed the way improvisation was fundamentally done. And by combining electrifying musicianship, infectious warmth, and rare comedic skills, he achieved a worldwide popularity few jazz musicians have ever enjoyed.


This is the enthralling saga of Dizzy Gillespie -- a chronicle of the rise of a jazz genius from the lowest rung of the social order to the highest pinnacle of respect and ability that brings Harlem's golden after-hours era, the raucous 52nd Street scene, of the forties, the barrios of Havana and Rio, the White House, and the world's great concert halls to glorious life.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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The Genius of Duke Ellington [Paperback] Review

I had wanted a Duke Ellington piano solo book for a long time. And the unfortunate part about buying jazz books is that they aren't available in local stores. There's no way to look inside of the book online, so I basically have to guess which ones are good.

So I guess you see where I'm going - I am not completely happy with it. All of the songs are 1 or 2 pages. After the basic composition, there is no improvisation on the melody. Plus, a lot of the songs are labeled "Boogie-Woogie", which is not my favorite style.

The plus side is that I did learn a cool trick. Now that I know that I don't like really short songs, I can use what is available on Amazon - page count and song count. Doing the math, this book has songs that are an average of 1.7 pages. A different book that I have enjoyed has 5.25 pages per song. So before buying a book, I can check that out.

The other good thing is that the songs have grown on me. The arrangements are by Duke Ellington himself, and not someone arranging his orchestra songs for piano solo. So I like playing what the genius himself arranged. Out of the book, there are a few gems.

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Product Description:
Two dozen tunes in the Duke's own style. Includes: I'm Nobody's Baby
* I'll See You in My Dreams
* I Cried for You
* At Sundown
* You Are My Lucky Star.

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Race Music: Black Cultures from Bebop to Hip-Hop [Hardcover] Review

Race Music is a wonderful example of music scholarship. Ramsey's work provides a rigourous, fresh, and inciteful look into African American Music. Unlike many music scholars who unsuccessfully negotiate the academic and popualar terrains simultaneously, Ramsey presents an unflinchingly academic book in a way that allows the lay public access into his wonderful world of idas. A must read!!!!

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In a Silent Way: A Portrait of Joe Zawinul [Illustrated] [Hardcover] Review

One of the things that makes this such an interesting book is that it is about the music as much as it is about the personality of Joe. It has details such as how two Drummers were used on one of the Black Market Tracks. I so enjoyed listening to the songs after reading about them.

Half the book is about the Weather Report years, the other half is pre and post Weather Report.

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Product Description:
Joe Zawinul pioneered a seismic shift in American jazz, incorporating international rhythms and new electronic tonalities.

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So What: The Life of Miles Davis [Hardcover] Review

Prior to SO WHAT I felt that, as revealing as many prior Davis bios were (including Miles' own book), their sum was somehow less than the parts.That is, there was more to understand about Miles Davis than what was collectively written.Along comes SO WHAT, the most balanced and coherent one-stop source yet for getting to know about the entirety of Miles Davis' life.As much as Miles urged us to let the music speak for itself, the context and environment in which Davis' art was created is important, and author John Szwed is up to the challenge to walk down the many paths that lead to and from Davis' music and life (e.g., discussing the aesthetics of artists as wide-ranging as Stockhausen and Sly Stone, both of whom impacted Miles' musical vision in the 1970s).Szwed doesn't attempt to cram every interesting, revealing, or just plain provocative story from prior books into his bio.Still, his research does come up with some errors previously presented as facts, and there are plently of newfound "Miles Davis stories" to amuse and/or amaze the reader, for better and worse.
What the author seems to do is pick and choose among the previously-revealed tidbits about Miles and use them as supplements to 1) his open-minded knowledge about the entirety of Davis' music (as well as the cultural and commercial environment in which it was created), and 2) fresh, revealing interviews he conducted with family members and others close to the subject at key points in his life.Having unprecedented access to Davis' family was possibly the missing piece of the puzzle needed to really reconcile what was already known about Miles with the many contradictions that sat unresolved for decades (e.g., tough exterior, insecure interior).Even as Szwed stays in tune with Davis' music from beginning to end, he reveals with unprecedented detail just how chaotic his personal life was.Previously I thought Davis was unlucky to have died so relatively young...albeit at age 65.Given all of the substance abuse and other problems he faced (and created for himself), I'm now amazed that Miles lasted so long, and how he could--with a bare minimum of lulls over nearly a half-century--be artistically creative right up to his final hospitalization in 1991.
Being that Miles' life was often sensationalistic to begin with, Szwed plays it cool with this hot topic, writing the way that Davis played, sans ornamentation.SO WHAT stays focused on the big picture...with details that dip beneath the surface throughout Miles' entire life.The information seems mostly accurate; among the errors that I caught were that Szwed states the 1985 Artists United vs. Apartheid SUN CITY project in which Davis participated was a Quincy Jones production (in reality it was led by Little Steven and Arthur Baker). The author is confusing that benefit recording with WE ARE THE WORLD from the same year which Jones did direct (this error undermines Szwed's critique of the SUN CITY album).Also, it's unfortunate that the 20-CD COMPLETE MONTREUX boxed set came along too late to be included here, because the high quality of that music is the best evidence yet that Miles' final years were musically-productive ones.However, all this means is that understanding Davis remains an ongoing process.Even with its few minor flaws, no oneto date has better unraveled the enigmatic genius of Miles Davis than Szwed.I recommended this book first, with Paul Tingen's MILES BEYOND next in line.

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Evolving Bassist [Plastic Comb] Review

"The Evolving Bassist" has come to be the standard bass method book in the world of jazz.In it, Rufus Reid explains his "concept" of playing bass, moving beyond merely playing quarter notes to progressive and thoughtful bass lines.
As the title of the book indicates, this is a process.The book is designed for players of any level to develop a well-rounded approach to the bass.
The main portion of the method includes etudes, scales, and standard patterns for Latin bass lines, Rock bass lines, etc.Also included are many practical hints, answers to frequently asked questions, discography, and transcriptions of a number of Mr. Reid's compositions.
"The Evolving Bassist" is all around an excellent aid for the growing jazz bass player.

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Product Description:
A comprehensive new edition based on major revisions to Reid's The Evolving Bassist and Evolving Upward. Contains more transcriptions of Reid's recorded solos, original compositions arranged as duets, new etudes, and additional ways to learn tunes and conceive better bass lines. The Evolving Bassist will continue to be an all-inclusive bass player's reference book as well as a classic method book.

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Footprints: The Life and Work of Wayne Shorter [Hardcover] Review

Michelle Mercer has done the seemingly impossible:she has fully inhabited the far-out imagination of one of our greatest, and at times, seemingly most unreachable musicians, and brought back the subject from the outer space he's been confined to. Yes, it's a book about jazz; but only, truly, as an explication of life.Yes, it's a biography, but it's neither a Pollyana bio-pic nor is it a psychobabble psychobiography.Additionally, despite the affirming names of Shorter and Herbie Hancock on the cover, this effort is hardly an as-told-to "approved" bio.It's actually quite wonderfully like its subject: funny, strange,compelling--and as serious as your life.

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Stan Getz - Nobody Else But Me (Book) [Paperback] Review

Jazz Critic Dave Gelly has a jazzy and breezy prose style, not unlike the tenor saxophone style of the book's subject, Stan Getz. I zipped through this book, and it went down as easy as a dry martini after a hard day's work.

Getz's nickname was "The Sound" and the sound was lush, beautiful, lyrical, melodic, and swung like crazy. But Stan, "The Man" was a different story, and it is a paradox that such lovely music could come from someone so flawed. Heroin addiction at one point caused a desperate young Getz to attempt to rob a pharmacy. He later kicked heroin, but was an alcoholic wife beater. He was not the best parent. He was jealous of Chet Baker. He was an adulterous womanizer.

But then there was the music, Jack Teagarden, Stan Kenton, the Woody Herman Band, the Bossa Nova, the exciting career, the gorgeous sound . . .

Gelly tells it like it is, spinning a compelling narrative that doesn't shy away from the life behind the music, but still illuminates that music, putting it all in perspective, and making us feel the wonder of "The Sound" anew. It's all there in this book, Nobody Else But Me, shakin' like Gelly on a plate.

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Product Description:
The creator of the unforgettable "Girl from Ipanema" tenor sax tone, this son of Ukranian immigrants took his unique sound through five decades of swing, cool, bossa, and beyond. From Getz's teenage gigs with Dorsey, Goodman, and Stan Kenton, fame with Woody Herman, years as a masterful bandleader, and struggles with drugs and the law, this biography tells the bittersweet story of one of our most beloved jazz musicians. This is the first book to focus on Getz's musical legacy, exploring the lightness of touch, lyricism, and warm glow that marked his sound. It also gives insight into his skills as a consummate improviser, capable of playing with a musical, tonal, and emotional range matched by few other musicians.

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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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Secrets from the Masters [Paperback] Review

This 1992 book is a collection of interviews with famous guitarists - primarily rock and jazz guitarists from the 60s, 70s and 80s. There are some big names missing, but most are there. There are some interesting insights and anecdotes, and some music history. Sometimes I wished the interviews would get more a little more technical - rather than re-hashing the stars band-hopping history. I would like to know more specifics about how these top players view the neck, how they think and how they learnt, for example. That said, the book does contains a lot of insights and variety. I particularly enjoyed the interviews with Steve Morse and Howard Roberts -- guitarists that I was not previously familiar with. Les Paul is incredible. Actually - there are just too many good bits to itemize them here. A good read, and each chapter stands alone. I find that I re-read parts of this from time to time. Worth buying, for a classic rock/jazz (and possibly blues) oriented guitarist.

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Product Description:
Interviews with 50 of the worldÕs greatest guitarists spanning the past 25 years and collected into one information-packed volume. Based on articles originally published in Guitar Player, Secrets From The Masters features the most influential guitarists of our time - from legends such as Chuck Berry, Carl Perkins and B.B. King to Joe Satriani, Eddie Van Halen and Eric Clapton, and all genres in-between. This book celebrates the guitarists who have forever altered the way we play and think about the guitar. Within these interviews you will find poetry and prophesy, the outrageous and the sublime, plus rare photos, challenging music, groovy gear, groundbreaking techniques and other glimpses into greatness. 8-1/2 inch. x 11 inch..

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The House That Trane Built: The Story of Impulse Records [Hardcover] Review

Ashley Kahn is carving out a serious niche for himself as a fans' chronicler of classic jazz CDs. I've found his works on "Kind of Blue" and "Love Supreme" helpful, and "House that TraneBuilt" expands the interviews and research he did for "Love Supreme" into a history that jazz fans will find insightful.

It's hard to move beyond Trane on Impulse. I've got most of his stuff for the label, and I'm hard pressed to think of albums that I listen to regularly outside of Trane from Impulse. Blues and the Abstract Truth comes to mind. Some Pharoah Sanders. I've been meaning to get Gil Evans Out of the Cool for awhile. But I haven't been collecting jazz much lately, and this book will inspire me to pick up some more stuff.

The story of this book is as much the producers of Impulse as it is 'Trane's work. I did not realize how Impulse differed from Blue Note in that it was born with the cash to make an immediate impact. Not only was it born with cash, but it was also born with an artist: Ray Charles, who hit with "One Mint Julep" on his album "Genius + Soul = Jazz". Creed Taylor, he of the more popular oriented CTI Records, shows a true heart for the music in his initial choices for impulse artists. Bob Thiele, however, is the costar of this book. Kahn goes through great pains to show how Thiele's opening up to Coltrane and avant-garde music helped give him the latitude and the courage to work with some of the more "out" artists like Archie Shepp and Albert Ayler.

For those readers who are new to jazz, a good way to decide whether you want to purchase the book would to be focus on the album sketches that are interspersed throughout the book. In the first two-thirds of the book, most of these are titles that jazz fans will recall with fondness. But there are some examples of albums that fell by the wayside like a Curtis Fuller orchestral session and some of the rock experiments that formed a small but significant part of Impulse's later years.

I dig this book. As a former musician, I'm always looking for background that helps to ground musicians in the history and tradition of the music. This book will help jazz fans understand how a jazz label can exist within a major conglomerate and still produce risk-taking music. One can only hope that somewhere someone can figure out to find similarly breathtaking music that can function as both commerce and art.

5 stars

--SD

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The Great Music of Duke Ellington [Paperback] Review

This book contains a 14 page overview of Duke's career and the words and music to over 40 songs, which are:
Albamy Home
Azure
Birmingham Breakdown
Black Butterfly
Bli-blip
Boy Meets Horn
The Brown Skin Gal in the Calico Gown
Caravan
Come Sunday
The Creole Love Call
Day Dream
Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me
Doin' The Crazy Walk
Don't Get Around Much Anymore
Echoes Of Harlem
Everything But You
Five O'Clock Drag
The Gal From Joe's
Gypsy Without A Song
I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good
I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart
I Never Felt This Way Before
I'm Just A Lucky So And So
I'm Riding On The Moon And Dancing On The Stars
I'm So In Love With You
In A Sentimental Mood
It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)
Jeep Is Jumping
Lady In Blue
Lost In Meditation
Love You Madly
Mood Indigo
Paris Blues
Please Forgive Me
Prelude To A Kiss
Ring Dem Bells
Rockin' In Rhythm
Satin Doll
Solitude
Something To Live For
Sophisticated Lady
Take The "A" Train

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City Limits [Paperback] Review

I enjoyed Terry Teachout's book of autobiographical essays "City Limits". There is nothing terribly important in the book, but its tone and pace are leisurely & enjoyable and his stories reveal interesting details about an important cultural critic whose influence is rising each year through his books and articles in "Commentary", "The Wall Street Journal" and other influential conservative journals of opinion. Teachout's writing reminds me of my favorite writer, Joseph Epstein (it is probably no coincidence that you often find their pieces in the same issues of publications). Both writers are extremely culturally fluent with a lot of interesting things to say. Their writing is also very accessable to the average, educated person who is looking to learn more about literature, music, theater, art, and the good life in general.

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