Eberhard Weber: A German Jazz Story (Equinox, 190pp., £25. Book Review by Chris Parker) “The notes of a musically conscious man, ideally free of conceit” is how virtuoso bassist Eberhard Weber describes […]
‘Eberhard Weber: A German Jazz Story’
Malik Al Nasir – ‘Letters to Gil: A Memoir’
Malik Al Nasir – Letters to Gil: A Memoir (William Collins, 320pp., £20. Book Review by Chris Parker) At the age of eighteen, semi-literate, destitute, bewildered and directionless after spending his adolescence […]
Matthew Wright – ‘Jazz and Cricket – an unlikely combination’
Matthew Wright – ‘Jazz and Cricket – an unlikely combination’(Cadillac Music & Publishing. 75pp. Book review by Mary James) Jazz and cricket may seem an unlikely combination – the former conjures up […]
Amit Chaudhuri – ‘Finding the Raga’
Amit Chaudhuri – Finding the Raga: An Improvisation on Indian Music(Faber & Faber. 272pp. Book review by Jay Visvadeva) Finding The Raga follows a journey. It is an autobiographical account of Amit […]
David Burke – ‘Giant Steps: Diverse Journeys in British Jazz’
David Burke – Giant Steps: Diverse Journeys in British Jazz(Desert Hearts. Review by Tony Dudley-Evans) Giant Steps presents short chapters on 25 musicians from the British Caribbean, African and Asian (including West Asia) […]
Michael Spitzer – ‘The Musical Human’
Michael Spitzer – The Musical Human (Bloomsbury, 2021. Book review by Peter Jones) Listeners to BBC Radio 4 may have heard Simon McBurney reading extracts from this book over recent days: it […]
Sammy Stein – ‘Pause, Play, Repeat’
Sammy Stein – Pause, Play, Repeat – “The real impact of COVID-19 on musicians (mainly jazz)”. (Self-published – purchase link below. 156pp. Pb and e-book. Book review by Jon Turney) Chances are, […]
Jeff Colella – ‘Love Music and it will love you back: Essays on Music’
Jeff Colella – Love Music and it will love you back: Essays on Music (Mouthpiece Music. 118pp. e-book review by John Arnett) How to distil the essence of music and music making, […]
Mark Baxter – ‘Tubby Hayes. The Life Behind The Tenor’
Mark Baxter: Tubby Hayes. The Life Behind The Tenor. (Mono Media Books. £39.95. Book Review by Dave Gelly) It first came out as a limited edition, 100-copy deluxe hardback, price £84.95. It […]
Andy Hamilton – ‘Pianos, Toys, Music and Noise: Conversations with Steve Beresford’
Andy Hamilton – Pianos, Toys, Music and Noise: Conversations with Steve Beresford (Bloomsbury Academic. 228pp. Book review by Tony Dudley-Evans) This book presents a series of conversations between author Andy Hamilton and […]
David Harvey – ‘The Look of Jazz’
David Harvey – The Look of Jazz (Peterborough: Upfront Publishing. Photobook review by Jane Mann) Musician and photographer David Harvey has used the lockdown to assemble a collection of his photographs of […]
Philip Nanton – ‘Riff: The Shake Keane Story’
Philip Nanton – Riff: The Shake Keane Story) (Papillote Press. 157pp. Book Review by John Fordham) This may be a short book, but three enthralling stories are entwined in it. One involves […]
Mark Burford – ‘Mahalia Jackson and the Black Gospel Field’
Mark Burford – Mahalia Jackson and the Black Gospel Field (Oxford University Press, 496pp., £22.99. Book review by Chris Parker) Although this is the fourth published study of “the world’s greatest gospel […]
Cisco Bradley – ‘Universal Tonality: The Life and Music of William Parker’
Cisco Bradley – Universal Tonality: The Life and Music of William Parker (Duke University Press. 416pp. Book Review by Tony Dudley-Evans) The free jazz and improvised music scenes in Europe, including UK, […]
Henry Martin – ‘Charlie Parker, Composer’
Henry Martin – Charlie Parker, Composer (Oxford University Press Hardback 338pp. Book review by Andy Hamilton) The founder of bebop was born 100 years ago this year – an anniversary that for […]
