The jazz idiom and the men who nurtured and fostered its development are considered here in the brief biographies of 12 jazz greats, related with contagious enthusiasm by disk-jockey and folk record critic of the Chicago Sun-Times, Studs Terkel. Joe Oliver, Duke Ellington, Bix Beiderbecke, Fats Waller, Benny Goodman, Billie Holliday, Woody Herman, Dizzy Gillespie, Bessie Smith and Stan Kenton are described here as people and as musicians with brief treatment of the sounds they make and why they make them and some speculation on the influence some of them had on others. A good gift for the jazz enthusiast, this should be of some interest to anyone who owns a radio. Strong interest, infectiously communicated.
Pub Date: Sept. 9, 1957
ISBN: 156584999X
Page Count: 214
Publisher: T.Y. Crowell
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1957
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
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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