(Keyboard Instruction). This book presents a concise history, or "survey" of jazz piano. In 13 hands-on lessons and 4 bonus performances, Dick Hyman explores the styles, musical vocabulary, and performers who have defined and shaped this elusive American art form over the last century. Starting with the pre-ragtime music of Louis Moreau Gottschalk and ragtime of Scott Joplin, and ending with the advanced scale types of Nicholas Slonimsky and music of McCoy Tyner, Mr. Hyman discusses and demonstrates the astonishing variety of jazz piano improvisation and the people and techniques that have shaped its evolution. The included DVD, showing all 13 lessons and 4 bonus performances, is filled with closeups of Mr. Hyman's hands as he plays and discusses these techniques. This fascinating package also features a preface and autobiography of Hyman. "From the pre-ragtime genesis of Louis Moreau Gottschalk to the modal post-bop of the great McCoy Tyner, this may be the finest lesson book not only in depth of material but in ease of use ... when you combine the publishing genius of Hal Leonard with the artistic brilliance of Dick Hyman then a five star recommendation is easy " Critical Jazz

When Johnny Cammareri (Danny Aiello) goes to visit his dying mother in Sicily, he asks his long-term girlfriend Loretta (Cher) to contact his estranged brother Ronny (Nicolas Cage) and invite him to their upcoming wedding. Ronny, a hot-headed baker, turns out to be everything his brother is not, and soon he and his prospective sister-in-law are embarking on a passionate affair. Oscars were won by Cher, supporting actress Olympia Dukakis, and writer John Patrick Shanley.

A three-disc box set from England's Avid Records, Little Jazz Giant tracks trumpeter Roy Eldridge's career from his early work as part of the Delta Four in 1935 through his own efforts to front a swing combo in the late '30s, his work with bandleaders Teddy Hill and Fletcher Henderson, his brilliant early-'40s sides with Gene Krupa, his profitable stay with Artie Shaw, his uncertain position with the modern bop community, and finally, four concluding tracks with Oscar Peterson. In retrospect, it's interesting how many of the most striking cuts here were actually written by Eldridge, including "That Thing," "The Gasser," "Fish Market," "Wild Driver," "Yard Dog," and "They Raided the Joint," each of which has a perceptible modernist edge. Pound for pound, Eldridge was one of the finest upper-range trumpet players jazz has ever produced, and this set has countless examples of his jet-propelled solos (check out his lightning-fast solos in the version of "St. Louis Blues" that is included here). Avid has released each of the discs from this set as single packages as well, entitled The Gasser (1935-1946), Wild Driver (1944-1950), and The Heat's On (1951-1952). ~ Steve Leggett