This is the true story of a jazz drummer who worked with many famous musicians.

The Cultural Politics of Jazz Collectives: This Is Our Music documents the emergence of collective movements in jazz and improvised music. Jazz history is most often portrayed as a site for individual expression and revolves around the celebration of iconic figures, while the networks and collaborations that enable the music to maintain and sustain its cultural status are surprisingly under-investigated. This collection explores the history of musician-led collectives and the ways in which they offer a powerful counter-model for rethinking jazz practices in the post-war period. It includes studies of groups including the New York Musicians Organization, Sweden’s Ett minne för livet, Wonderbrass from South Wales, the contemporary Dutch jazz-hip hop scene, and Austria‘s JazzWerkstatt. With an international list of contributors and examples from Europe and the United States, these twelve essays and case studies examine issues of shared aesthetic vision, socioeconomic and political factors, local education, and cultural values among improvising musicians.

Celebrates Oakland, California's contribution to the national stage in terms of music, dance, visual arts, and literature over the past half century through vintage images, from the early days of Slim Jenkins's nightclub to the changing styles of Esther's Orbit Room and the Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts. Original.

This is another book in a series of jazz scrapbooks that gives recognition to musicians who should not be forgotten and were personally known to the author. Browse the first book in the seires: Some Jazz Friends .

Honor My Father is a true story of how college men came to the US Navy as reservists, instructed by the officers from Annapolis, and teamed together. It brings their many personal stories of interactions with my dad (Air Defense Commander), serving on two destroyers (USS Bancroft & USS Goodrich) with the naming of their actual crew members. My story honors these silent, humble heroes. Thirty Benson-class destroyers were built from 1938 to 1943 and were the most vulnerable in the sea, protecting the fleet. The officers and crews earned 174 Battle Star Citations, one Presidential Citation and two Navy Unit Commendations posthumously. The last section of my true story about Dad, Comedy of Adolescence; describes how as a new professor, working on his Ph.D. this writer entered his teenage years while the two of us moved from the city of Chicago to the small town of Athens, Ohio. After his war experiences, he experienced nothing like the big guns going off in his ear until the hard pounding drums from my new rock and roll band!

This is about the life of a jazz trombonist written by Jim Goggin who has been a close friend of Bob Mielke for over fifty years.

The autobiography of the celebrated American jazz pianist, composer, activist, educator, and Emmy Award–winning broadcaster. Legendary jazz ambassador Dr. Billy Taylor’s autobiography spans more than six decades, from the heyday of jazz on 52nd Street in 1940s New York City to CBS Sunday Morning. Taylor fought not only for the recognition of jazz music as “America’s classical music” but also for the recognition of black musicians as key contributors to the American music repertoire. Peppered with anecdotes recalling encounters with other jazz legends such as Jelly Roll Morton, Duke Ellington, Art Tatum, Count Basie, Billie Holiday, and many others, The Jazz Life of Dr. Billy Taylor is not only the life story of a jazz musician and spokesman but also a commentary on racism and jazz as a social force. “This book (including Dr. Teresa L. Reed’s eloquent introduction) captures with great clarity and accuracy the character of this man. Taylor not only always aspired to excellence, he was also humble and generous of word and deed. The Jazz Life of Dr. Billy Taylor provides the backstory of why he must be remembered as one of the major leading lights of America’s classical music.” —New York City Jazz Record “In this excellent collaboration with author Teresa Reed, Dr. Billy Taylor, one of the most beloved and iconic figures in the jazz world, tells his extraordinary life story in his own words with characteristic humility, warmth, and eloquence. This is a book of major importance not only to the jazz field but also to the study of the African American social and cultural experience in the 20th and early 21st centuries. It is a must read—I couldn’t put it down!” —Dr. David N. Baker, Chair, Jazz Studies, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music; National Endowment for the Arts American Jazz Master “An impeccable memoir by one of America’s most celebrated renaissance men. . . . The writing is as fluid as it is gorgeous, captivating and inspiring. This monumental memoir offers an in-depth and critical analysis of American history through the lens of one the most decorated African American creative artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. . . . From amazing details of interactions with Malcolm X, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., John Coltrane and Mary Lou Williams to the behind-the-scenes inspirations for compositions such as “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free,” “Don’t Go Down South” and “Peaceful Warrior”; this is a must read by anyone who claims to be remotely interested in American music, history, arts and culture.” —Emmett G. Price III, Ph.D, Executive Editor of Encyclopedia of African American Music