Certainly no singer has been more mythologized and more misunderstood than Billie Holiday, who helped to create much of the mystique herself with her autobiography, Lady Sings the Blues. "Now, finally, we have a definitive biography," said Booklist of Donald Clarke's Billie Holiday, "by a deeply compassionate, respectful, and open-minded biographer [whose] portrait embraces every facet of Holiday's paradoxical nature, from her fierceness to her vulnerability, her childlikeness to her innate eleg...
The contributions of this late pioneering jazz vibraphonist, composer, arranger and band leader Cal Tjader have largely been undervalued. This book is a major corrective. The greater part covers the Grammy winner's 40-year professional life, and his explorations of both Latin and jazz music. His personal life is remembered by those who knew Cal best. The extensive research going into this book features many interviews with family, friends and colleagues both in the Bay Area and elsewhere; all...
A lively account of the jazz world through the eyes of rhythm guitarist Steve Jordan.
Swing is back in style, and with it a renewed interest in the Big Band Era. And few players dominated that era more than Harry James, whose soaring trumpet solos and romantic hit tunes influenced popular music for a generation. Now, Peter J. Levinson, who knew Harry James personally, has written a revealing biography of this jazz icon, based on nearly 200 interviews with musicians and friends. Harry James led a truly colorful life, and in...
Up-Grade! Jazz Piano Grades 0-1 is a fun addition to Pam Wedgwood's popular Up-Grade! Series, featuring well-loved jazz hits in cool new arrangements and are demonstrated on the online audio. Specially selected for the pianist looking for something to bridge the gap between grades, the repertoire features hip classics such as I Got Rhythm, The Lady Is A Tramp and The Bare Necessities, alongside jazzy numbers by the inimitable Pam Wedgwood. There are several other spin-offs to the Up-Grade! Seri...
Take the Lead+ Jazz Standards (Bbw (+CD)