From the Minds of Jazz Musicians: Conversations with the Creative and Inspired celebrates contemporary jazz artists who have toiled, struggled and succeeded in finding their creative space. The volume was developed through transcribing and editing selected interviews with 35 jazz artists, conducted by the author between 2009 and 2012 in New York City, with a historical essay on each artist to provide context. The interviews feature musicians from a broad range of musical styles and experiences, ranging from Gerald Wilson, born in 1918, to Chris Potter, born in 1971. Topics range from biographical life histories to artists' descriptions of mentor relationships, revealing the important life lessons they learned along the way. With the goal to discover the person behind the persona, the author elicits conversations that speak volumes on the creative process, mining the individualistic perspectives of seminal artists who witnessed history in the making. The interviews present the artists' candid and direct opinions on music and how they have succeeded in pursuing their unique and creative lives.

1. Information presented is with contemporary musicians, interviewed in the recent past 2. Focuses on the creative process and the music, in additional to being biographical 3. Draws on cultural issues of the day pertaining to race and diversity 4. Encourage the jazz student/musician to compare and contrast with their own career paths

1. Information presented is with contemporary musicians, interviewed in the recent past 2. Focuses on the creative process and the music, in additional to being biographical 3. Draws on cultural issues of the day pertaining to race and diversity 4. Encourage the jazz student/musician to compare and contrast with their own career paths

The music of Tchaikovsky remains as much loved in the twenty-first century as it was a hundred years ago. But it has so much more to offer than luscious orchestration and tuneful melodies. In Experiencing Tchaikovsky: A Listener's Companion, historian and scholar David Schroeder looks beyond traditional views of Tchaikovsky to explore the dramatic impact of his music by walking readers through the remarkable range of works by this great Russian composer. Drawing on a select, but highly representative, group of compositions from Tchaikovsky's vast output, from his groundbreaking ballet Swan Lake to his great opera Eugene Onegin, Experiencing Tchaikovsky: A Listener's Companion offers in-depth explorations without technical jargon. In addition to looking at his ballets and some of his operas, Schroeder probes the many other genres in which Tchaikovsky worked, from his chamber music pieces and symphonies to his other orchestral works and concertos. Throughout, Schroeder draws connections among the works, painting a fuller, more coherent picture of Tchaikovsky through his thematic interests, musical techniques, sonic signatures, and literary and cultural focuses. For context, Schroeder describes the works of personal significance for the composer through such contemporary literature as Tchaikovsky's letters to Nadezhda von Meck, the wealthy patroness whom he never met. Experiencing Tchaikovsky: A Listener's Companion is for anyone who left a ballet performance whistling themes from Swan Lake or humming melodies from The Nutcracker. It is the ideal work for concertgoers, music students, opera buffs, ballet enthusiasts, and anyone who appreciates this musical master.

The author focuses on the way that music has infiltrated Hitchcock's thinking as a director, from his earliest silent films to his last works. Music is an underexplored dimension in Hitchcock's works. Taking a different view from most works on Hitchcock, David Schroeder focuses on how an expanded definition of music influences Hitchcock's conception of cinema. The structure and rhythm of his films is an important addition to the critical literature on Hitchcock and our understanding of his films and approach to filmmaking. Alfred Hitchcock liked to describe his work as a director in musical terms; for some of his films, it appears that he started with an underlying musical conception, and transformed that sense of music into visual images. The director's favorite scenes lacked dialogue, and they made their impact through a combination of non-verbal actions and music. For example, the waltz and the piano are used as powerful images in silent films, and this approach carries over into sound films. Looking at such films as "Vertigo", "Rear Window", and "Shadow of a Doubt", Schroeder provides a unique look at the way that Hitchcock thought about cinema in musical terms.

The invention of cinema was ingenious, so much so that virtually no-one quite knew what to do with it. In its earliest stages, especially with the advent of the feature film, it needed models, and opera proved to be especially useful in that regard. The allure of opera to cinema early in the twentieth century held up through the silent era, into sound films, through the golden age of movies, and beyond. This book explores the numerous ways - some predictable, some unexpected, and some bizarre - in which this has happened. The influence of Richard Wagner on filmmakers has been especially striking, and some have even devised visual images that seem to emerge from a kind of non-verbal Wagnerian essence - a formative, musical urge that can underlie a cinematic idea, defying explanation and remaining purely sensory. Directors like Griffith, DeMille, Eisenstein, Chaplin, Bunuel or Hitchcock have intuited this possibility. Schroeder provides a fascinating, well-researched and always entertaining account of the influence of one medium on another, and shows that opera can often be found lurking in the background (or booming in the foreground) of an impressive range of films.

Audiences as well as other artists have responded to Franz Schubert's music with passion, both during his time and in the past two centuries. Musicians, painters, writers, and filmmakers have all found a connection with him, integrating his music into their own works in ways that have given their works greater depth. Our Schubert: His Enduring Legacy examines Schubert and the ways audiences and artists both his contemporaries and their descendents relate to him, analyzing some of the uses of Schubert's music and providing an intimate portrait of the man. Divided into two parts, part one focuses on Schubert's own time, discussing many aspects of Schubert's life and the effects they had on his compositions, such as the special importance and personal function Schubert's songs held for the composer and their effect on his other works; his association with his contemporaries; and the subtleties of his political activism. Part two considers Schubert's legacy, investigating the composer's ability to arouse passion in other artists through the intervening years to the present. This fascinating study includes several photos as well as a select bibliography and discography that include the works discussed."

Titles in the Listener's Companion Series provide readers with a deeper understanding of key musical genres and the work of major artists and composers. Aimed at nonspecialists, each volume clearly explains how to listen to works from particular artists, composers, and genres. Examining both the context in which the music appeared and its form, authors provide the environments in which key musical works were written and performed-from a 1950s bebop concert at the Village Vanguard to a performance of Handel's Messiah in eighteenth-century Dublin. Wolfgang Amade Mozart (1756-1791) remains as popular today as ever. His recordings fill iTunes playlists, and annual Mozart festivals are performed worldwide. His eminence as a musician has supported overseas guided tours, served as the subject of a cartoon series (Little Amadeus: twenty-nine episodes from 2006 to 2008), inspired movies and documentaries, and launched a French rock opera. In Experiencing Mozart: A Listener's Companion, music historian David Schroeder illustrates how the issues Mozart cared about so deeply remain important to modern listeners. His views on politics, women, authority, and religion are provided, along with compelling analysis of selected great symphonies and sonatas, moving concertos and innovative keyboard works, and groundbreaking operas. Schroeder merges his vast knowledge of the great artist's personal and professional life, late eighteenth-century European culture and society, and remarkable musicianship to guide listeners in the art of listening to Mozart. This work is an ideal introduction to readers and listeners at any level.

From the Minds of Jazz Musicians: Conversations with the Creative and Inspired celebrates contemporary jazz artists who have toiled, struggled and succeeded in finding their creative space. The volume was developed through transcribing and editing selected interviews with 35 jazz artists, conducted by the author between 2009 and 2012 in New York City, with a historical essay on each artist to provide context. The interviews feature musicians from a broad range of musical styles and experiences, ranging from Gerald Wilson, born in 1918, to Chris Potter, born in 1971. Topics range from biographical life histories to artists' descriptions of mentor relationships, revealing the important life lessons they learned along the way. With the goal to discover the person behind the persona, the author elicits conversations that speak volumes on the creative process, mining the individualistic perspectives of seminal artists who witnessed history in the making. The interviews present the artists' candid and direct opinions on music and how they have succeeded in pursuing their unique and creative lives.

The Lycan Chronicles A small, secluded town in Southern Indiana holds many dark and sinister secrets. Formed and financed by the ruling class of Vampires wishing to expand their covenant into the New World, this peculiar town was established in 1840, and it remained peaceful for over 160 years. Not a single unnatural human death had occurred among the many that were employed there in order to satisfy the Vampire's never ending thirst for blood... welcome to Wolf Creek. Before the inception of this otherworldly place, the Vampires were the hunted in the new America. In desperate need of protection, they reached out to the supernatural creatures of the Native American legends...the shape shifting Lycans. Employed as peace keepers and guardians, the Lycans and Vampires were able to co-exist in harmony and normality, escaping the persecution of the outside world that surrounded them. The human volunteers were compensated generously for their participation, required only to give a weekly donation of blood to the town's Blood Bank. Life was wonderful for all of the town's inhabitants, until 1947 when an ancient Vampire history book was uncovered along with the Dead Sea Scrolls...the Book of Blood. This mysterious book contained a sought-after formula that would allow the Vampires to walk freely in the sunlight... Sunlife. Under the direct orders of the Original Vampire of England, Baron Valvasor, hand selected Vampires would work for decades in futile attempt to decode the secrets lying within the book's pages and bring the Vampire's ultimate dream alive...that is until the day a recruited computer hacker and talented chemist cracked the code, finally producing the coveted potion. With the Book of Blood now decoded, the diabolical plan of the ruling class began to unravel and the Lycans must stop at nothing to prevent them from taking over the world. Will the Lycan's unearthly strength and powers be enough to restore order and balance to Wolf Creek, or will the undead live on to spread their infectious disease to the rest of the unsuspecting world and reign forever?

This story is based on 10 years of my life as a Hollywood musician and my secret life as a top shot-caller in the gritty Hollywood underworld. The four of us set out for Hollywood on September 1st, 1987, with dreams of becoming the next Motley Crue. We had the talent and the looks, and vowed to each other to avoid the lure of drugs. Unfortunately, Hollywood had other plans. When the record deal fell through and I was on my last dime, I found myself being dragged into an underground world of corruption. Before long, I was working for organized crime, doing business deals with outlaw motor cycle gangs, staying one step ahead of the FBI, and losing touch with the world I had once known. My guitar cases were now filled with deadly weapons. Love, betrayal, Wicca, crystal meth, and a crippling blast from a sawed-off shot gun would all have roles in bringing me to my knees. Many of the people and events in the story have been the focus of local and national new programs, though I have changed most of the names. This book includes my adventures with dozens of celebrities, from famous musicians to Hollywood actors and known underworld figures. It goes into great depth explaining how methamphetamine made the jump from the biker culture to the Hollywood nightlife and then via the Internet to the rest of the country.

When the babysitter doesn't show up one stormy night, it looks like the Woodley's night out is ruined... that is, until they get their odd-duck of a neighbor and retired scientist from Hellaburton Corporation, Ol' Man Johnson, to watch their boys for the evening. Join us as he tells his disturbing tales of horror and suspense, gathered around the candlelight. Aware A group of campers take a weekend retreat as part of their group therapy treatment, when they run into a group of local thugs who try to rob them... the thieves quickly realizing they might've bitten off more than they can chew. Serpentine Ol' Man Johnson's lost daughter, Emilie, is drawn into an alternate lifestyle, after a series of men betray her love. After being given the choice of a lifetime, she must decide whether or not to enter into the world of the undead, and become the lover of a four-hundred-year-old female vixen Vampire. The Golem Working as the midnight curator at a Chicago museum, Ol' Man Johnson discovers a mysterious crate that has been traveling the earth since Nazi Germany three-quarter centuries ago. When an eight foot, clay statue, named Joseph is found inside and brought to life, carnage and destruction soon follow. Dream Machine Recruited death row inmates unwittingly find themselves as part of a sinister Hellaburton experiment, as fear fluids from the condemned prisoners are extracted from their brains. But what the prisoners don't realize, is that their terrifying experiences are being induced via a simulated dream world that threatens to literally scare them to death. Despite the terrifying, true-life stories, the boys love Ol' Man Johnson, and they want him to come back again for more of his Dead Time Tales.

Business in the Trenches shows how you can exploit the lessons of the Great War to win on the business battlefield.Business in the Trenches by David Schroeder combines compelling military history with insightful business analogies. It demonstrates clearly how companies grapple with the same problems as armies at war. Business in the Trenches describes how you can leverage the experiences war to solve vexing problems and defeat the competition.Business in the Trenches takes readers through a number of fascinating stories from World War One, a time of dramatic change in warfare. It draws parallels between the problems faced by armies on the battlefield, and the problems facing businesses today. Business in the Trenches unravels the mystery of why World War One turned into the quagmire it did, and how most organizations today follow similar paths for the same reasons. Most importantly, it provides detailed and practical advice on how to deal with specific challenges and achieve breakthrough success.Schroeder demonstrates that while times may change, human nature does not. This is especially true in the high pressure worlds of business and warfare. Schroeder 's common sense yet controversial theories about World War One decisions, show them to be eerily similar to those made in business today. The same forces motivate people, and they still make similar choices for similar reasons. Understanding what produces victory or disaster, and why, enables you to succeed where most fail.About the AuthorDavid Schroeder is a globally experienced business consultant, a distinguished military officer, and a critically acclaimed designer of historical military simulations. He has helped high tech companies around the world increase their productivity and profitability. He is a Colonel in the Army Reserve, and has received awards at the highest levels. He was featured along with the Army Chief of Staff in videos on improving organizational performance. Schroeder has published a number of well-received detailed studies on the Great War.

The author focuses on the way that music has infiltrated Hitchcock's thinking as a director, from his earliest silent films to his last works. Music is an underexplored dimension in Hitchcock's works. Taking a different view from most works on Hitchcock, David Schroeder focuses on how an expanded definition of music influences Hitchcock's conception of cinema. The structure and rhythm of his films is an important addition to the critical literature on Hitchcock and our understanding of his films and approach to filmmaking. Alfred Hitchcock liked to describe his work as a director in musical terms; for some of his films, it appears that he started with an underlying musical conception, and transformed that sense of music into visual images. The director's favorite scenes lacked dialogue, and they made their impact through a combination of non-verbal actions and music. For example, the waltz and the piano are used as powerful images in silent films, and this approach carries over into sound films. Looking at such films as "Vertigo", "Rear Window", and "Shadow of a Doubt", Schroeder provides a unique look at the way that Hitchcock thought about cinema in musical terms.

The complex relationship between Mozart and his father has fascinated music lovers for centuries, and much effort has been spent examining the letters exchanged by the two men. This provocative book offers a new reading of these letters, placing them in the context of the stylized strategies of the eighteenth-century epistolary tradition and arguing that they reveal a rebelliousness deep within Mozart's life and work. David Schroeder contends that Mozart's father, Leopold, intended to write a biography of his son and designed his correspondence to be published as a type of moral biography. He bombarded his son with letters that often began with amusing anecdotes and then offered a torrent of advice on every imaginable subject. Dealing with these often biting letters presented Mozart with a challenge. He could react with anger, but that type of revolt only fired Leopold's criticism, and it proved much more effective to be evasive or dissimulating. Mozart's letters, in contrast to the moral German-styled letters he received, came closer to the more wily French letters of the philosophes, Voltaire especially, whose style he would have discovered while living in Paris. Like Voltaire, Mozart wore different epistolary masks, playing the comedian, moralist, intimate friend, or even, with scatological outbursts, protester against the sanitized moral and enlightened world of authority. Eventually Mozart turned the correspondence into an epistolary game, willfully making his letters unprintable and deliberately subverting his father's plans.