A collection of quotes and anecdotes loosely organized around eleven influential personalities (Ellington, Holiday, Armstrong, Wilson, Mulligan, Davis, Mingus, Parker, Coltrane, Taylor, and Barbieri), some recent developments, and "the political economy of jazz"—a chapter title as misleading as the book's. Aficionados will find many famous vignettes along with a few previously unrecorded ones and corrections of misrecorded ones. But after more than thirty years writing everything from liner notes to novels about jazz, Hentoff's awed fan stance gets him no closer to a definition of it than his previous efforts. Now a Village Voice columnist on politics and civil liberties, his take on racial and cultural factors lacks the passion and scholarship of LeRoi Jones' Blues People and Black Music; his biographical data the depth of A. B. Spellman's Black Music: Four Lives; and his criticism the precision of Whitney Balliett's Ecstasy at the Onion or Martin Williams' fine The Jazz Tradition. Hentoff borrows from some of these and various biographies and autobiographies, making Jazz Is almost a sampler, worthwhile more as introduction than source book. Since there is no writer who has brought it all together for jazz the way, say, Edwin Denby has for dance, young readers and newcomers might use this book as a catalogue from which future reading and listening can be chosen.
Pub Date: Sept. 28, 1976
ISBN: 0879100036
Page Count: 372
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: April 3, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1976
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s...
Music journalist and musician Wald (Talking 'Bout Your Mama: The Dozens, Snaps, and the Deep Roots of Rap, 2014, etc.) focuses on one evening in music history to explain the evolution of contemporary music, especially folk, blues, and rock.
The date of that evening is July 25, 1965, at the Newport Folk Festival, where there was an unbelievably unexpected occurrence: singer/songwriter Bob Dylan, already a living legend in his early 20s, overriding the acoustic music that made him famous in favor of electronically based music, causing reactions ranging from adoration to intense resentment among other musicians, DJs, and record buyers. Dylan has told his own stories (those stories vary because that’s Dylan’s character), and plenty of other music journalists have explored the Dylan phenomenon. What sets Wald's book apart is his laser focus on that one date. The detailed recounting of what did and did not occur on stage and in the audience that night contains contradictory evidence sorted skillfully by the author. He offers a wealth of context; in fact, his account of Dylan's stage appearance does not arrive until 250 pages in. The author cites dozens of sources, well-known and otherwise, but the key storylines, other than Dylan, involve acoustic folk music guru Pete Seeger and the rich history of the Newport festival, a history that had created expectations smashed by Dylan. Furthermore, the appearances on the pages by other musicians—e.g., Joan Baez, the Weaver, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Dave Van Ronk, and Gordon Lightfoot—give the book enough of an expansive feel. Wald's personal knowledge seems encyclopedic, and his endnotes show how he ranged far beyond personal knowledge to produce the book.
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s personal feelings about Dylan's music or persona.Pub Date: July 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-236668-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Dey Street/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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