On Jazz
A Personal Journey

A vivid and fascinating up-close encounter with jazz, brim-full of anecdote and personal reminiscence, by an internationally known broadcaster and writer.

Alyn Shipton (Author)

9781108834230, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 5 May 2022

310 pages
23.5 x 15.8 x 2.3 cm, 0.61 kg

'Every music genre has its champions, people who declare fealty to it above all others. Some are professional devotees: players, educators and academics, exploring music through performance, contextualization and interpretation. Some are impresarios or producers, scouting new talents and celebrating existing ones by putting them to work, making their music heard. Alyn Shipton is all these things and more, a kind of jazz superhero.' Maria Golia, Times Literary Supplement

Few musical genres inspire the passionate devotion of jazz. Its mystique goes far beyond the melodies and rhythms, with its key players and singers discussed by aficionados with a respect that borders on reverence. Some books on jazz offer little more than theory or dry facts, thereby relinquishing the 'essence' of the music. This book is different. One of the most influential and internationally known writers on the subject describes, through vivid personal contacts, reminiscences and zesty anecdotes, his life in jazz as a player, broadcaster and observer. Alyn Shipton recalls friendships with legendary musicians, while revealing fresh discoveries about such luminaries as Fats Waller, Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Abbey Lincoln and Geri Allen. On Jazz powerfully evokes the atmosphere of clubs and dancehalls, and takes us behind the scenes and up onto the stage, so that this electrifying world is unforgettably spotlighted as never before.

1. Getting started
2. New Orleans 1976
3. Before Katrina
4. Women of new Orleans
5. Finding fats
6. Swing era legends
7. Louis Armstrong
8. Count Basie
9. Duke Ellington
10. Dizzy and bird
11. The modern jazz quartet
12. The 'Swing Drummer'
13. Jackie McLean and Sonny Rollins
14. Oscar Peterson and his trios
15. The dawn of fusion
16. A taste of freedom
17. Looking back and looking forward
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: 20th century & contemporary classical music [AVGC6]