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Books > Music > Contemporary popular music > Jazz
An intimate look at the legendary Frank Sinatra by one of his
closest friends. Not many people were allowed inside Frank
Sinatra's inner circle. But Tony Consiglio was a boyhood friend of
Sinatra's who remained his friend and confidant for over sixty
years. One reason Sinatra valued Tony's friendship is that he could
be trusted: Sinatra nicknamed him "the Clam" because Tony never
spoke to reporters or biographers about the singer. From the early
days when Sinatra was trying to establish himself as a singer to
the mid-1960s, Tony worked with Sinatra and was there to share in
the highs and lows of Sinatra's life and career. Tony was with
Sinatra during his "bobby-soxer" megastar days in the 1940s, and he
remained loyal to Sinatra during the lean years of the early 1950s,
when "the Voice" was struggling with a crumbling singing and acting
career-as well as his tumultuous marriage to Ava Gardner. Tony also
had a front row seat to Sinatra's comeback in the 1950s, starting
with his Academy Award-winning role in From Here to Eternity and a
string of now-classic hit recordings. Tony's friendship with
Sinatra allowed him to rub elbows with the Hollywood elite,
including Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Sammy Davis, Jr., Peter
Lawford, Kim Novak, Ava Gardner, and many others. It also brought
him close to the political world of the early 1960s, when Sinatra
campaigned for John F. Kennedy and then helped plan the Kennedy
inauguration. Tony was even at the Kennedy compound in Hyannis,
Massachusetts, when the election results came in. Sinatra and Me
will shed new light on the real Frank Sinatra-from the man who knew
him better than anyone.
The Stooges Brass Band always had big dreams. From playing in the
streets of New Orleans in the mid-1990s to playing stages the world
over, they have held fast to their goal of raising brass band music
and musicians to new heights - professionally and musically. In the
intervening years, the band's members have become family, courted
controversy, and trained a new generation of musicians, becoming
one of the city's top brass bands along the way. Two decades after
their founding, they have decided to tell their story. Can't Be
Faded: Twenty Years in the New Orleans Brass Band Game is a
collaboration between musician and ethnomusicologist Kyle DeCoste
and more than a dozen members of the Stooges Brass Band, past and
present. It is the culmination of five years of interviews,
research, and writing. Told with humor and candor, it's as much a
personal account of the Stooges' careers as it is a story of the
city's musicians and, even more generally, a coming-of-age tale
about black men in the United States at the turn of the
twenty-first century. DeCoste and the band members take readers
into the barrooms, practice rooms, studios, tour vans, and streets
where the music is made and brotherhoods are shaped and
strengthened. Comprised of lively firsthand accounts and honest
dialogue, Can't Be Faded is a dynamic approach to collaborative
research that offers a sensitive portrait of the humans behind the
horns.
A galvanizing history of how jazz and jazz musicians flourished
despite rampant cultural exploitation The music we call "jazz"
arose in late nineteenth century North America--most likely in New
Orleans--based on the musical traditions of Africans, newly freed
from slavery. Grounded in the music known as the "blues," which
expressed the pain, sufferings, and hopes of Black folk then
pulverized by Jim Crow, this new music entered the world via the
instruments that had been abandoned by departing military bands
after the Civil War. Jazz and Justice examines the economic,
social, and political forces that shaped this music into a
phenomenal US--and Black American--contribution to global arts and
culture. Horne assembles a galvanic story depicting what may have
been the era's most virulent economic--and racist--exploitation, as
jazz musicians battled organized crime, the Ku Klux Klan, and other
variously malignant forces dominating the nightclub scene where
jazz became known. Horne pays particular attention to women
artists, such as pianist Mary Lou Williams and trombonist Melba
Liston, and limns the contributions of musicians with Native
American roots. This is the story of a beautiful lotus, growing
from the filth of the crassest form of human immiseration.
It was 1969, and Miles Davis, prince of cool, was on the edge of
being left behind by a dynamic generation of young musicians, an
important handful of whom had been in his band. Rock music was
flying off in every direction, just as America itself seemed about
to split at its seams. Following the circumscribed grooves and
ambiance of In A Silent Way; coming off a tour with a burning new
quintet-called 'The Lost Band'-with Wayne Shorter, Chick Corea,
Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette; he went into the studio with
musicians like frighteningly talented guitarist John McLaughlin,
and soulful Austrian keyboardist Joe Zawinul. Working with his
essential producer, Teo Macero, Miles set a cauldron of ideas loose
while the tapes rolled. At the end, there was the newly minted
Prince of Darkness, a completely new way forward for jazz and rock,
and the endless brilliance and depth of Bitches Brew. Bitches Brew
is still one of the most astonishing albums ever made in either
jazz or rock. Seeming to fuse the two, it actually does something
entirely more revolutionary and open-ended: blending the most
avant-garde aspects of Western music with deep grooves, the album
rejects both jazz and rock for an entirely different idea of how
music can be made.
Dancer, award-winning choreographer, show producer, stand-up
comedienne, TV/Film actress and author, Norma Miller shares her
touching historical memoir of Harlem's legendary Savoy Ballroom and
the phenomenal music and dance craze that \u0022spread the power of
swing across the world like Wildfire.\u0022 A dance contest winner
by 14, Norma Miller became a member of Herbert White's Lindy
Hoppers and a celebrated Savoy Ballroom Lindy Hop champion.
Swingin' at the Savoy chronicles a significant period in American
cultural history and race relations, as it glorifies the home of
the Lindy Hop and he birthplace of memorable dance hall fads.
Miller shares fascinating anecdotes about her youthful encounters
with many of the greatest jazz legends in music history, including
Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Billie Holiday, Artie
Shaw, Duke Ellington, Ethel Waters, and even boxer Joe Louis.
Readers will experience the legend of the celebrated Harlem
ballroom and the phenomenal Swing generation that changed music and
dance history forever.
'Any book on my life would start with my basic philosophy of
fighting racial prejudice. I loved jazz, and jazz was my way of
doing that,' Norman Granz told Tad Hershorn during the final
interviews given for this book. Granz, who died in 2001, was
iconoclastic, independent, immensely influential, often thoroughly
unpleasant - and one of jazz's true giants. Granz played an
essential part in bringing jazz to audiences around the world,
defying racial and social prejudice as he did so, and demanding
that African-American performers be treated equally everywhere they
toured. In this definitive biography, Hershorn recounts Granz's
story: creator of the legendary jam session concerts known as Jazz
at the Philharmonic; founder of the Verve record label; pioneer of
live recordings and worldwide jazz concert tours; manager and
recording producer for numerous stars, including Ella Fitzgerald
and Oscar Peterson.
Sing 16 of the world's most beloved jazz standards in the style of
legendary vocalists like Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland, Etta James,
Eileen Rodgers, Barbra Streisand, Sarah Vaughan, and more This
deluxe package (songbook plus two enhanced CDs) provides everything
you need to arrive at auditions and performances completely
prepared, whether your accompaniment will be live or pre-recorded.
If a pianist is present, hand them the complete piano/vocal sheet
music. (Chord fingering grids are also provided for optional guitar
accompaniment.) If recorded accompaniment is required, the
fully-orchestrated audio tracks will lend a professional touch to
your performance. Vocal demonstration tracks are also included for
each song. Titles: Anything Goes * At Last * Bewitched, Bothered
and Bewildered * Cry Me a River * Don't Rain on My Parade * Dream a
Little Dream of Me * Embraceable You * I Get a Kick out of You *
Misty * My Funny Valentine * Over the Rainbow * Someone to Watch
Over Me * Summertime * They Can't Take That Away From Me * Whatever
Lola Wants * When I Fall in Love.
With Vocal Complete, the sheet music matches the original key and
form of the backing tracks, so if you practice singing with one,
you won't encounter unexpected variations with the other. Upload
the tracks to your portable music player for practice,
performances, auditions, parties, or even singing for fun in the
car There are two versions of every song on the CDs: a
full-performance track with sound-alike vocals for listening and
learning, and a professional-quality backing track for singing
along. When the CDs are played on a Mac or Windows-based computer,
the TNT (Tone 'N' Tempo) Changer lets you customize the key and
tempo of each track to suit your voice and style. (The key changer
modifies audio playback via computer only. The sheet music remains
in its original key.)
"If you love performing classic jazz standards, you need to have
this book in your music bag. I know I'll be using i
Jazz: The Basics gives a brief introduction to a century of
jazz, ideal for students and interested listeners who want to learn
more about this important musical style. The heart of the book
traces jazz's growth from its folk origins through early recordings
and New Orleans stars; the big-band and swing era; bebop; cool jazz
and third stream; avant-garde; jazz-rock; and the neo-conservative
movement of the 1980s and 1990s.
Key figures from each era including: Louis Armstrong, Benny
Goodman, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, and Wynton Marsalis are
highlighted along with classic works. The book concludes with a
list of the 100 essential recordings to own, along with a timeline
and glossary. Jazz: The Basics serves as an excellent introduction
to the players, the music, and the styles that make jazz 'America's
classical music.'
The contributors to Playing for Keeps examine the ways in which
musical improvisation can serve as a method for negotiating
violence, trauma, systemic inequality, and the aftermaths of war
and colonialism. Outlining the relation of improvisatory practices
to local and global power structures, they show how in sites as
varied as South Africa, Canada, Egypt, the United States, and the
Canary Islands, improvisation provides the means for its
participants to address the past and imagine the future. In
addition to essays, the volume features a poem by saxophonist
Matana Roberts, an interview with pianist Vijay Iyer about his work
with U.S. veterans of color, and drawings by artist Randy DuBurke
that chart Nina Simone's politicization. Throughout, the
contributors illustrate how improvisation functions as a model for
political, cultural, and ethical dialogue and action that can
foster the creation of alternate modes of being and knowing in the
world. Contributors. Randy DuBurke, Rana El Kadi, Kevin Fellezs,
Daniel Fischlin, Kate Galloway, Reem Abdul Hadi, Vijay Iyer, Mark
Lomanno, Moshe Morad, Eric Porter, Sara Ramshaw, Matana Roberts,
Darci Sprengel, Paul Stapleton, Odeh Turjman, Stephanie Vos
Kansas City Lightning: The Rise and Times of Charlie Parker is
the first installment in the long-awaited portrait of one of the
most talented and influential musicians of the twentieth century,
from Stanley Crouch, one of the foremost authorities on jazz and
culture in America.
Throughout his life, Charlie Parker personified the tortured
American artist: a revolutionary performer who used his alto
saxophone to create a new music known as bebop even as he wrestled
with a drug addiction that would lead to his death at the age of
thirty-four.
Drawing on interviews with peers, collaborators, and family
members, Kansas City Lightning recreates Parker's Depression-era
childhood; his early days navigating the Kansas City nightlife,
inspired by lions like Lester Young and Count Basie; and on to New
York, where he began to transcend the music he had mastered. Crouch
reveals an ambitious young man torn between music and drugs,
between his domineering mother and his impressionable young wife,
whose teenage romance with Charlie lies at the bittersweet heart of
this story.
With the wisdom of a jazz scholar, the cultural insights of an
acclaimed social critic, and the narrative skill of a literary
novelist, Stanley Crouch illuminates this American master as never
before.
The beautiful and entertaining arrangements in the Dan Coates
Popular Piano Library collections are a welcome addition to any
pianist's pop repertoire. Medleys for Christmas is a collection of
favorite irreplaceable songs from throughout the years. Why perform
only one showstopper at a time when you can play a dazzling variety
in an exciting medley? Titles: Christmas Day Medley * Christmas Eve
Medley * Jolly Christmas Medley * Ringing Christmas Medley *
Rockin' Christmas Medley * Snowy Christmas Medley.
(Easy Piano Solo). A great collection of 21 jazz standards arranged
at an easier level, including: All Blues * All the Things You Are *
Beyond the Sea * Caravan * Do Nothin' Till You Hear from Me * Fly
Me to the Moon (In Other Words) * The Girl from Ipanema (Garota De
Ipanema) * Here's That Rainy Day * In Walked Bud * One Note Samba
(Samba De Uma Nota So) * Satin Doll * So What * Take the "A" Train
* Waltz for Debby * and more.
(Easy Fake Book). 100 must-have jazz standards presented in larger
notation with simplified harmonies and melodies, with all songs in
the key of C, and introductions for each song, to add a more
finished sound to the arrangements. Includes: Alice in Wonderland *
All or Nothing at All * Over the Rainbow * April in Paris * Begin
the Beguine * Blue Moon * Body and Soul * Cry Me a River * Darn
That Dream * Easy to Love * Embraceable You * Fascinating Rhythm *
Good Morning Heartache * Harlem Nocturne * How Long Has This Been
Going On? * I Get a Kick out of You * It Ain't Necessarily So *
Just One of Those Things * A Kiss to Build a Dream On * Let's Do It
(Let's Fall in Love) * Lollipops and Roses * Love Walked In *
Lullaby of Birdland * Mack the Knife * Nice Work If You Can Get It
* Night and Day * On Green Dolphin Street * The Shadow of Your
Smile * Someone to Watch Over Me * These Foolish Things (Remind Me
of You) * A Time for Love * When Sunny Gets Blue * Willow Weep for
Me * You Do Something to Me * You Stepped Out of a Dream * and
more.
Jazz is one of the most influential American art forms of our
times. It shapes our ideas about musical virtuosity, human action
and new forms of social expression. In "Going for Jazz, " Nicholas
Gebhardt shows how the study of jazz can offer profound insights
into American historical consciousness. Focusing on the lives of
three major saxophonists--Sidney Bechet, Charlie Parker, and
Ornette Coleman--Gebhardt demonstrates how changing forms of state
power and ideology framed and directed their work.
Weaving together a range of seemingly disparate topics, from
Frederick Jackson Turner's frontier thesis to the invention of
bebop, from Jean Baudrillard's "Seduction" to the Cold War atomic
regime, Gebhardt addresses the meaning and value of jazz in the
political economy of American society. In "Going for Jazz, " jazz
musicians assume dynamic and dramatic social positions that demand
a more conspicuous place for music in our understanding of the
social world.
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