When Whitney Balliett's "American Musicians" appeared in the Fall
of 1986, the acclaim it received was universal. Leonard Feather,
writing in the "Los Angeles Times," said "no other writer now
living can write with comparable grace and equal enthusiasm about
everyone from Jack Teagarden and Art Tatum to Cecil Taylor and
Ornette Coleman." And Bruce Cook in "The New Leader" called the
book "the quintessential Whitney Balliett, the cream of the cream,
a collection that leaves no doubt about his strength."
That book gathered together all of Balliett's profiles of jazz
instrumentalists. Here, in the revised edition of "American
Singers," Balliett has added thirteen new biographical profiles to
double the size of the book and provide the perfect complement to
"American Musicians." It now contains all the profiles on singers
that Balliett has written for "The New Yorker." Alongside original
chapters on such great vocalists as Ray Charles, Tony Bennett, Joe
Turner and Alberta Hunter, Balliett has added fresh portraits of
Mel Torme, Julius La Rosa, George Shearing, and Peggy Lee. To his
study of four masters of the cabaret (Hugh Shannon, Mabel Mercer,
Bobby Short, and Blossom Dearie) he has joined a fifth, Julie
Wilson. There are new chapters on singer-pianists Cleo Brown and
Nellie Lutcher, as well as on Carol Sloane, Betty Carter, and David
Frishberg. Perhaps most notable is his extended profile of Alec
Wilder, one of America's most lyrical and moving songwriters and
composers.
In the three decades that he has written for "The New Yorker,"
Whitney Balliett has earned the reputation as America's foremost
jazz critic. The late Philip Larkin described him as a "writer who
brings jazz journalism to the verge of poetry," and Gene Lees
called him "one of the most graceful essayists in the English
language on any subject." He has an unsurpassed ability to convey
in words the sound of a singer's voice, and he makes readers feel,
as one observer put it, that they are "sitting with Balliett and
his subject and listening in."
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
