Keith Jarrett ranks among the most accomplished and influential pianists in jazz history. His TheKoln Concert stands among the most important jazz recordings of the past four decades, not only because of the music on the record, but also because of the remarkable reception it has received from musicians and lay-listeners alike. Since the album's 1975 release, it has sold over three million copies: a remarkable achievement for any jazz record, but an unprecedented feat for a two-disc set of solo piano performances featuring no well-known songs.
In Keith Jarrett's The Koln Concert, author Peter Elsdon seeks to uncover what it is about this recording, about Keith Jarrett's performance, that elicits such success. Recognizing The Koln Concert as a multi-faceted text, Elsdon engages with it musically, culturally, aesthetically, and historically in order to understand the concert and album as a means through which Jarrett articulated his own cultural and musical outlook, and establish himself as a serious artist. Through these explorations of the concert as text, of the recording and of the live performance, Keith Jarrett's The Koln Concert fills a major hole in jazz scholarship, and is essential reading for jazz scholars and musicians alike, as well as Keith Jarrett's many fans."

"This is an excellent and authoritative book -- one that will no doubt become the standard biography of Richard Rodgers". -- Allen Forte, Yale University

Richard Rodgers, a musical genius whose Broadway career spanned six successful decades, composed more than a thousand songs for the American stage. Although he reaped wealth, success, and recognition that included two shared Pulitzer Prizes, Rodgers found happiness elusive. In this first comprehensive biography of Rodgers, William G. Hyland tells the full story of the complex man and his incomparable music.

Hyland's portrait of Rodgers (1902-79) begins with his childhood in an affluent Jewish family living in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan. During college years at Columbia University and early work on the amateur circuit and Broadway, Rodgers entered into a historic collaboration with the lyricist Lorenz Hart. The team produced a dozen popular shows and such enduring songs as "The Lady Is a Tramp". Rodgers' next partnership, with Oscar Hammerstein II, led to the creation of the musical play, a new and distinctively American art form. Beginning with Oklahoma in 1943, this pair dominated Broadway for almost twenty years with a string of hits that remain beloved favorites: Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I, and The Sound of Music. When Hammerstein died in 1960, Rodgers began a new phase in his career, writing the lyrics to his own music, then joining lyricists Stephen Sondheim, Sheldon Harnick, and Martin Charnin. Despite periods of depression, excessive drinking, hypochondria, and devastating illness at different points in his life, Rodgers' outpouring of music seemed little affected, and he continued to compose untilhis death at age seventy-seven. An icon of the musical theater, Rodgers left a legacy of timeless songs that audiences return to hear over and again.

Imagine being alongside one of the greatest bands in the history of rock, touring the world and being there as they perform at some of the best and biggest music venues in the world. Peter Hince didn't have to imagine: for more than a decade, he lived a life that other people can only dream of as he worked with Queen as head of their road crew. In 1973, Queen was the support act for Mott the Hoople, for whom Peter was a roadie. Back then, Queen had to content themselves with being second on the bill and the world had not yet woken up to the flamboyant talent of Freddie Mercury. Peter started working full time for Queen just as they were making A Night at the Opera, the album which catapulted them to international stardom. In this intimate and affectionate book, Peter recalls the highlights of his years with the band. He was with Freddie when he composed 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love'; he was responsible for making sure that Freddie's stage performances went without a hitch - and was often there to witness his famed tantrums! He was also party to the sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll which are invariably part of life on the road with a rock band.

In this book, Ronald Ebrecht has meticulously studied each of Durufle's works and put together the first book to discuss in detail all of Durufle's music. With encouragement from Durufle's editor and the foundation established in his name, Ebrecht has compiled copious examples from manuscript sources to be published for the first time along with the little-known contextualizing works of Messiaen and Barraine. Most widely known for his masterpiece Requiem, the composer's orchestral gems are analyzed alongside his delightful miniature: the orchestration of the Sicilienne. The organ works which set the standard for virtuosity at conservatories around the world are given new insightful and thorough evaluation by Ebrecht, whose long association with late 19th and early 20th century France and French music affords illuminating connections between Durufle and his predecessors and successors with sweeping insight and minute detail.

Barbra Streisand has enjoyed worldwide artistic success for more than three decades, and her recordings are a consistent and integral part of her multifaceted professional life. As part of Greenwood's series, Companions to Celebrated Musicians, this volume explores the musical life and style of Barbra Streisand and places her in the context of American popular music of the second half of the 20th century. Attention is given to other aspects of her career as they relate to her recordings. Chapters proceed chronologically and trace Streisand's evolving musical career and her successes. Analytical sections focus on musical elements, such as instrumentation and orchestration, melody, harmony, rhythm and tone, dynamics, and form, as they examine in detail Streisand's recordings and songs.

This study of Barbra Streisand's music will appeal to American and popular music scholars and fans alike. The detailed musical analysis is written in straightforward prose. An appendix includes an album discography, song discography, and listing of other recordings and videos. An extensive bibliography serves as a guide to further research.

This book introduces every important aspect of the Elizabethan music world. In ten scrupulously researched yet accessible chapters, Lord examines the lives of composers, the evolution of musical instruments, the Elizabethan system of musical notation, and the many textures and traditions of Elizabethan music. Biographical entries introduce the most significant and prolific composers as well as the members of royal society who influenced Elizabethan musical culture. Both familiar and obscure instruments of the era are described with focus on their musical and social contexts. Various types of music are defined and illustrated, along with an explanation of the musical notation used during this era. Chapter bibliographies, glossaries, and an index provide additional tools for both the novice and the experienced student of music and music history. When Elizabeth ascended to the throne in 1558, England was undergoing tremendous upheaval. Power struggles between Protestants and Catholics shaped the English music world as musicians' livelihoods were directly linked to their religious allegiances. Music became a form of strategy within court politics, and secular music evolved through the musical and poetic influences of the Italian Renaissance. Events of the day were told and retold through music, class and social differences were sung with relish, and rituals of love and life were set to story and song. When England defeated the vaunted Spanish Armada in 1588, a victorious nation expressed its jubilance through music.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky remains to this day one of the most-performed Russian composers. Based on recent studies and source editions, this book demonstrates the close interrelationship between Tchaikovsky's life and his work. The author portrays the versatility of the musician who died at the mere age of 53 under controversial circumstances in St. Petersburg. About the German edition of this book: "[...] Constantin Floros devotes himself initially to the biography and then to the compositional oeuvre, divided according to genre and supplemented by concrete illustrations, thus giving greater significance to the music." (Forum Musikbibliothek 27, 2006) "[...] the music gets more weight of its own in the more detailed analyses - illustrated with revealing note citations - which yet always remain readily accessible." (Steffen A. Schmidt, Das Orchester 02/2007)

Emma Lou Diemer--a composer who successfully combines a classicist's interest in form with a fresh, contemporary, harmonic vocabulary--has produced a diverse, sophisticated, and largely unheralded opus, including 350 works composed for orchestra, symphonic band, chamber ensemble, keyboard, chorus, voices, and solo and electronic instruments. This complete guide to her extensive work examines her influences and her unique musical style, reveals her philosophy of composing, and offers the reader access to detailed information about her work. Though her organ psalm settings and hymn preludes are considered standard repertoire, as are a number of her choral compositions, Diemer has not received her due attention or acclaim-an oversight fully corrected by this valuable addition to music scholarship.

Beginning with a brief biography that outlines Diemer's life and art, this thoroughly cross-referenced book goes on to enumerate the composer's many works and performances in a section divided by style and instrument. A complete discography and bibliography round out the volume, along with alphabetical, chronological, and genre-specific indexes.

Dwight Yoakam has long been known to country music fans as a musiciam who is as much artist as he is superstar. Over the course of his fifteen-year career, he has received fourteen Grammy nominations. One reviewer described his work this way: "Yoakam's lyrics--Leonard Cohen meets Ernest Tubb--work so well because they're literary without being high-minded. The artfulness of the words . . . doesn't always hit you until you read them on the lyric sheet."Newsweek called Yoakam's most recent record--titled, like his book, A Long Way Home--"a daring departure. It's lush and languid, more introspective than hit-driven. He's looking for subtle emotions, melodic evocations of the distances between people, and he draws on sources as varied as Bobby Darin, Chet Baker, and Buck Owens to get there."A Long Way Home is the first collection of Yoakam's lyrics in book form. It spans his career, from such early albums as Hillbilly Deluxe and Buenas Noches from a Lonely Room to the recently released, critically acclaimed A Long Way Home. Yoakam's songwriting is really storytelling--he poetically writes of subjects ranging from God to drinking to love--and proves him to be as fine a writer as he is a musician.

Having spent his entire career as a professional singer, songwriter, and musician, Thinking About Tomorrow is the amazing tale of rock and roll survivor Keith West. From being inspired by Elvis in the 1950s to pop stardom and working alongside the greats of the music world in the 1960s, Keith was at the eye of the storm alongside peers including The Who, The Beatles, The Kinks, The Small Faces, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix and many, many more. With his Tomorrow bandmates - Steve Howe, Junior and Twink - Keith was a pioneer of psychedelic music in the 1960s with songs such as My White Bicycle, and he also achieved international fame alongside Mark Wirtz with the song Excerpt from A Teenage Opera (popularly remembered by millions of music fans as Grocer Jack). Tomorrow evolved from the R&B and mod bands Four + 1 and The In Crowd and, while their recorded output is small, their influence on other artists and the way rock music would develop is widely-regarded as enormous. Steve Howe went on to continue his incredible guitar adventures in Yes and Asia, and Twink would continue to influence the rock world as a member of pioneering bands The Pretty Things, The Pink Fairies, and Hawkwind. Keith would go on to have a long career in the music business, embracing punk in the late 70s and indie music in the 80s and 90s. But this is no straightforward tale of rock and roll hedonism; the book also pulls back the curtain on the mysterious world of the music industry. It reveals how agents, managers, publishers, record companies, songwriters, artists and the media are all locked together in an endless pursuit of the elusive elixir of their professional lives - a hit. Yet, once lightning has struck, the tragic consequences, the tremendous opportunities and the money generated can still create ripples half a century later...

Bono is a passionate, articulate celebrity who has transcended his role as international rock star and become an effective political activist. This book provides insights into his life story and contributions to both popular culture and politics. Bono: A Biography takes a broad look at the pop star's life from his birth until the present day while also examining in depth the major events throughout his life. It covers Bono's accomplishments as part of U2 and also provides great detail about this complex celebrity figure's achievements outside of his involvement with his band-for example, his activities as a major spokesperson on issues of debt relief and poverty. This book will be appreciated by general readers as well as high school students with an interest in pop culture and politics. Authored by a writer who has been a fan of U2 and Bono since his youth, this book cites a variety of sources to present an engaging and comprehensive portrait of this passionate musician's contributions to popular music and his ongoing commitment to issues of social justice. Contains many direct quotes from Bono's speeches and interviews that address his activism and his life with U2 Presents a chronology of Bono's life from his birth onwards Includes a bibliography of works cited and other books worth reading

Self-described as a 'spotty, chubby, ginger teenager' with a love for Damien Rice and Nizlopi, Ed Sheeran was never an obvious bet to become a global superstar. And yet that's exactly what he's achieved, winning plenty of awards (and hearts) along the way. But how did a young musician go from selling CDs from his rucksack to becoming the millennial record-breaking international stadium act? Tracing his story from his bohemian childhood in Yorkshire and Suffolk to the release of his third album Divide, music journalist David Nolan chronicles Sheeran's musical life and times. Featuring exclusive interviews with friends, relatives, musical collaborators and key figures in his rise to stardom, Divide and Conquer tells the story of how Ed Sheeran went from school drop-out to one of the world's most successful musicians.

Beethoven's often-discussed dark side--marked by paranoia, narcissism, and obsession--is brought into focus by Peter J. Davies, who examines both the composer's genetic roots and the familial cruelty and neglect that defined his childhood. But this book is more than a biography, eschewing facile psychoanalysis in favor of a real exploration of how Beethoven's character shaped the work now universally regarded as among the best music ever written. Davies acutely observes the ways in which suffering can bring, at the same time, both madness and genius.

The author begins by tracing the medical history of mental disorders in Beethoven's family, and then goes on to detail the composer's religious beliefs and attitudes, his daily work habits and pastimes, and elements of his character including manic depression. Though the work does not purport to be a musical analysis, it does consider the many ways in which the things that shape an artist go on to shape his art.

Music scholarship has been rethinking its understanding of Franz Schubert and his work. How might our modern aesthetic values and historical knowledge of Schubert's life affect how we interpret his music? Schubert's Instrumental Music and Poetics of Interpretation demonstrates how updated analysis of Schubert and his instrumental works reveals expressive meaning. In six chapters, each devoted to one or two of Schubert's pieces, René Rusch explores alternate forms of unity and coherence, offers critical assessments of biographical and intertextual influence, investigates narrative, and addresses the gendering of the composer and his music. Rusch's comparative analyses and interpretations address four significant areas of scholarly focus in Schubert studies, including his use of chromaticism, his unique forms, the impact of events in his own life, and the influence of Beethoven. Drawing from a range of philosophical, hermeneutic, historical, biographical, theoretical, and analytical sources, Schubert's Instrumental Music and Poetics of Interpretation offers readers a unique and innovative foray into the poetics of contemporary analysis of Schubert's instrumental music and develops new ways to engage with his repertoire.

Bach's Changing World is a study of popular culture in the community in which Bach spent the last, the longest, and the most productive part of his life: the Leipzig middle-class. The Leipzig middle-class evolved with the cooperation and gratitude of an extravagant, greedy, and disinterested absolutist ruler. Bach's Changing World documents how this community and other German communities responded toa variety of religious, social, and political demands that emerged during the years of the composer's lifetime. An accepted, admired, and trusted member of this community, as evidenced by the commissions he received for secular celebrations from royalty and members of the middle-class alike -- in addition to functioning as church composer -- Bach shared its values. Contributors: Carol K. Baron, Susan H. Gillespie, Katherine Goodman, Joyce L. Irwin, Tanya Kevorkian, Ulrich Siegele, John Van Cleve, and Ruben Weltsch. Carol K. Baron is Fellow for Life in the Department of Music at Stony Brook University, where she was co-founder and administrator of the Bach Aria Festival and Institute.

It's the smile, it's the struggle, Britney is a teen sensation. Over 20 years in the bright lights of fame, the harsh glare of public adoration and the ever-present danger of sliding into the mocking pens of jealous critics but still she carries on. Somehow she has survived the Michael Jackson effect of early success and now commands the respect of a new generation of teens. Since 2004, she has released numerous fragrances, adding up to over 1.5 billion (yes, billion) in perfume sales and the director's cut version of her 'Womanizer' video is her most-watched video on YouTube, with 330 million views and counting. From Glee to X-factor, Britney is a fabulous, popular and enduring star with everyday qualities that make her fans love her and her music more and more as the years go by.

Many consider Patti Smith the godmother of punk. That label, however, is inaccurate. Although she possessed the energy and irreverence that would later mark the punk generation, she was inspired by the beatniks and by Jim Morrison, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, and many other figures whom the punk rockers were reacting against. Yet, she acted as a bridge between the two generations, finding common ground with both. The experimental and rebellious nature of her work made Smith and her band integral to the mid-'70s New York art rock scene, centered around the club CBGB on the Lower East Side. Smith's 1975 album, Horses, was the first album released from the scene and established Smith as a major artist. The androgynous appearance of Smith on the cover—shot by Robert Mapplethorpe—has become one of the most famous shots in rock history. Musically, the album was groundbreaking for its mix of improvisational music and Dionysian lyrics. As both an artist and a woman, she broke new ground. Smith released three more albums before abruptly walking away from her fame in 1980. She reemerged in the mid-'90s to reshape her image and astound fans with her dynamic performances. Smith's impact on rock music—her rebellion against gender roles, her charismatic performances, her merging of poetry and music, and the way she's aged as a rock star—has been vast. She has redefined what it means for women to be rock performers and blazed trails for many other popular female musicians to follow after her. Individual chapters examine individual albums and account for parallel developments in Smith's life. Tarr concludes his work with an examination of the influence Smith has had on pop culture and on rock 'n' roll in general. Patti Smith is a guarded and private person, and little has been written about her. In this searching analysis of Smith's life and work, author Joe Tarr has filled a huge gap and provided an essential guide to the iconic artist's career.

People Magazine"Shady Bizzness was disturbing and intense! It was like a good scary movie!" MSNBC"It was brilliantly written!" Book DescriptionThis story is based on the factual ills of "white rapper" and Hip-Hop phenomenon, "Eminem." "Shady Bizzness" tell about real life events of his public and private lifestyle. The book details the good times, hardships, drug abuse, domestic violence, scandals, sex, near-death experiences, murder, oppression of employees and bitter betrayl. "Shady Bizzness" is everything a parent despises, thugs love, groupies lust over, and wives hate!

An examination of the work and music of the Royalist composer William Lawes. William Lawes is arguably one of the finest English composers of the early seventeenth century. Born in Salisbury in 1602, he rose to prominence in the early 1630s; in 1635 he gained a prestigious post among the elite private musicians of Charles I (the "Lutes, Viols and Voices"). With the outbreak of civil war in 1642, Lawes took arms in support of the king; he died during the Siege of Chester in September 1645. This book is divided into three sections. The first is a contextual examination of music at the court of Charles I, with specific reference to the abovementioned arcane group of musicians; much of Lawes's surviving consort music appears to have been written to be performed by this group. The remainder of the book deals with William Lawes the composer. The second section is a detailed study of Lawes's autograph sources: the first of its kind. It includes 62 black and white facsimile images, and complete inventories of all the autographs, and presents ground-breaking new research into Lawes's scribal hand, the sources and their functions, and new evidence for their chronology. The third section comprises six chapters on Lawes's consort music; in these chapters various topics are examined, such as chronology, Lawes's compositional process, and the relationship between Lawes's music and the court context from which it arose. This book willbe of interest to scholars working on English music in the Early Modern period, but also to those interested in source studies, compositional process and the function of music in the Early Modern court. JOHN CUNNINGHAMis a Senior Lecturer in Music, at Bangor University.

The Beatles were - are - probably the most famous and successful band in the world, and despite breaking up over 40 years ago, their popularity remains rock solid, with fans ever-thirsty for new celebrations of their work. Organized by year, this brilliant book covers all the major events in their relatively short career.

Bruno Mars has sold over 115 million records worldwide as a singer, producer and songwriter. This book documents his childhood in Honolulu and how he found fame from the age of four. Here is the incredible story of Bruno Mars, the obscure Hawaiian singer /songwriter who rocketed to global fame in just three years. After failure and near poverty in LA where the Motown record label signed and then dropped him, Bruno Mars had a surprise worldwide smash with his fi rst single for Atlantic, 'Just The Way You Are'. With sales of over 115 million, including two record-breaking digital single releases, Bruno Mars became a major star almost overnight. Even so, his exotic origins make for a story of rare fascination - raised by a family of musicians, learning his craft in Honolulu, playing, writing and performing on other people's records in LA and surviving a career-threatening drug bust. This is the amazing biography of Bruno Mars so far. The future promises even more success!