The Notebooks of Sonny Rollins, edited by Sam V.H. Reese(New York Review Books. Book review by Phil Johnson), I suppose there must have been other moments in life when I felt as […]
Chris Searle – ‘Talking the Groove: Jazz Words from the Morning Star’
Chris Searle – Talking the Groove: Jazz Words from the Morning Star(Jazz in Britain, Book 394pp and double CD. £16.99. Book review by Jon Turney) “When we think of ‘jazz’, we’re thinking […]
James Kaplan – ‘3 Shades of Blue: Miles Davis John Coltrane Bill Evans and the Lost Empire of Cool’
James Kaplan – 3 Shades of Blue: Miles Davis John Coltrane Bill Evans and the Lost Empire of Cool(Canongate 484pp. £25. Book review by Jon Turney) Collective biographies should happen more often […]
Mike Gerber – ‘Kosher Jammers – Jewish Connections in Jazz. Volume 1: The USA.’
Mike Gerber – Kosher Jammers – Jewish Connections in Jazz. Volume 1: The U.S.A. (Vinyl Vanguard. Book review by Len Weinreich) Some years ago, a London magazine commissioned a piece describing the […]
Chuck Israels – ‘Bass Notes: Jazz in American Culture: A Personal View’
Chuck Israels – Bass Notes: Jazz in American Culture: A Personal View(Backbeat. 240pp. £30. Book review by Jon Turney) Chuck Israels certainly hasn’t rushed to give us his recollections and notions about […]
‘And Did Those Feet – Six British Jazz Composers’ (Michael Garrick, Mike Gibbs, Barry Guy, John Mayer, Keith Tippett and Mike Westbrook)
Duncan Heining – And Did Those Feet – Six British Jazz Composers (JazzinBritain. 320pp large format (*). £20. Book review by Jon Turney) Here’s a lovingly made invitation to dig into the […]
Vivien Ardley – ‘Neil Ardley: Kaleidoscopes and Rainbows’
Vivien Ardley (with additional material by John Coles and Dave Gelly) – Neil Ardley: Kaleidoscopes and Rainbows (Jazz in Britain. Book review by Tony Dudley-Evans) Neil Ardley was a major figure in […]
Henry Threadgill + Brent Hayes Edwards: ‘Easily Slip into Another World: A Life in Music’
Henry Threadgill and Brent Hayes Edwards: Easily Slip into Another World: A Life in Music (Knopf, US. UK £27 hb, £9.49 e-book. Book review by Jon Turney) In the Summer of 1967 […]
Roger Farbey – ‘Elastic Dream: The music of Ian Carr, An annotated discography’
Roger Farbey – Elastic Dream: The music of Ian Carr. An annotated discography (Jazz In Britain – Book/CD review by Mark McKergow) Roger Farbey’s newly-revised third edition of his Ian Carr omni-source […]
Brad Mehldau – ‘Formation – Building a Personal Canon, Part One’
Brad Mehldau – Formation – Building a Personal Canon, Part One (Equinox Books. 300pp. Publication date 14 March 2023. Book review by Scott Flanigan) One might imagine that pianist Brad Mehldau, one […]
Bruce Lindsay – ‘Ivor Cutler: A Life Outside the Sitting Room’
Bruce Lindsay – Ivor Cutler: A Life Outside the Sitting Room (Equinox Books. 254 pp. £25. Book Review by Rob Adams) Ivor Cutler was a singular talent. He was an author, poet, […]
Peter Dawn – Phil Seamen, ‘Percussion Genius’
Peter Dawn Phil Seamen, ‘Percussion Genius’ (Brown Dog Books, 751pp., £45. Book review by Chris Parker) The biography of a man generally recognised both by aficionados and fellow musicians as the UK’s […]
Peter Niklas Wilson – ‘Spirit’s Rejoice! Albert Ayler and His Message’
Spirit’s Rejoice! Albert Ayler and His His Message by Peter Niklas Wilson (Wolke PBK 176 pp. Book review by Andy Hamilton) The late Peter Niklas Wilson was a sober, insightful commentator who […]
Richard Koloda – ‘Holy Ghost: The Life And Death Of Free Jazz Pioneer Albert Ayler’
Richard Koloda – Holy Ghost: The Life And Death Of Free Jazz Pioneer Albert Ayler(Jawbone Press. 312pp. Book review by Tony Dudley-Evans) There seems to be increased interest in the music of […]
Peter Jones – ‘Nightfly: The Life of Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen’
Peter Jones – Nightfly: The Life of Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen (Chicago Review Press. Book review by Peter Bacon) Mark Murphy… Jon Hendricks… Donald Fagen… For those of us not far from […]