Buddy Collette has been a key figure in American jazz since the early 1940s. He is particularly noted as a principal participant in the Central Avenue jazz scene of Los Angeles, which rivals Harlem and New Orleans in its influence on the development of jazz. Collette worked closely with Charles Mingus and Eric Dolphy and went on to join the Chico Hamilton Quintet. He has led his own bands for thirty years as well as writing, arranging and playing on film soundtracks. In this fascinating autobiography, he illuminates the world of the studio musician and charts the developing jazz and social scene on the West Coast from the 1930s, through the Watts upheavals in the 1960s, to the present. He offers moving, first-hand portraits of his friends Charles Mingus, Eric Dolphy and Chico Hamilton, as well as personal accounts of Frank Sinatra, Paul Robeson and Charlie Parker. The book concludes with a fascinating review of Collette's recent activities as a teacher and performer. Book jacket.

"The distinctive sound of the swing-driven guitar style of Django Reinhardt has become almost synonymous with a carefree, bohemian Frenchness to fans all over the world. However, we in the US refer to his music using a telling designation: Django is known here as the father of gypsy jazz. In France, the cultural significance of the musical style--called jazz manouche in reference to his origins in the Manouche subgroup of Romanies (known pejoratively as "Gypsies")--is fraught both for the Manouche and for the white French men and women eager to claim Django as a native son. In Django Generations, ethnomusicologist Siv B. Lie explores the complicated ways in which Django's legacy and jazz manouche express competing notions of what it means to be French. Though jazz manouche is overwhelmingly popular in France, Manouche people are more often treated as outsiders. However, some Manouche people turn to their musical heritage to gain acceptance in mainstream French society. Considering all of the characteristics and roles attributed to Django--as a world-renowned jazz musician, as an artistic pioneer, as a representative of French heritage, and as a Manouche--jazz manouche becomes a potent means for performers and listeners to articulate their relationships with French society, actual or hoped-for. Weaving together a history of jazz manouche and ethnographic fieldwork undertaken in the bars, festivals, family events, and cultural organizations where jazz manouche is performed and celebrated, Lie offers insight into how a musical genre can channel arguments about national and ethnoracial belonging. She argues that an uncomfortable cohabitation of Manouche identity and French identity lies at the heart of jazz manouche, which is what makes it so successful and powerful"--

Where do you fit? Restoring Relationships within the Generations _______________________________________________________________________ Drs. Scott and Carolyn Buss, authors of numerous books, recording artists, co-founders and directors of the Institute of Music, Worship & the Arts and All Nations House of Prayer; concert artists, teachers, missionaries, speakers. Their passionate love for music has led them to the nations, (where they have ushered people from varying ethnic, generational and denominational backgrounds into the presence of the Lord, as they've played in great concert halls, ministered in numerous churches and schools, entertained thousands in elegant hotel ballrooms, performed in the historical East Wing of the White House and other governmental buildings.) The key point is not what they have accomplished or where they have been, but that they have played their violin and piano no differently for the audiences of a few in the remotest of mission fields or in small local gatherings. The reason being is because they, like Johann Sebastian Bach, minister unto the greatest audience wherever they are, and that is - God Almighty, the honored KING. He is worthy of the deepest of expressions from the heart, combined with excellence, which is ministered from worshiping priests before the Lord for His glory. Whether in song, spoken messages or in the books they write, their message is the same - More Love, More Unity, More Peace .... for the heart cries of broken relationships in marriages and families, split churches, damaged friendships. People hurt and don't know what to do. _______________________________________________________________________ "Reading this book caused me to see that there is a way to walk in truth and life, that people can be real with each other and walk in love. Families are suffering; trust is waned. This book gives clear revelatory answers and lots of encouragement." LY Thomas: artist, teacher, intercessor

Jazz from Detroit explores the city’s pivotal role in shaping the course of modern and contemporary jazz. With more than two dozen in-depth profiles of remarkable Detroit-bred musicians, complemented by a generous selection of photographs, Mark Stryker makes Detroit jazz come alive as he draws out significant connections between the players, eras, styles, and Detroit’s distinctive history. Stryker’s story starts in the 1940s and ’50s, when the auto industry created a thriving black working and middle class in Detroit that supported a vibrant nightlife, and exceptional public school music programs and mentors in the community like pianist Barry Harris transformed the city into a jazz juggernaut. This golden age nurtured many legendary musicians—Hank, Thad, and Elvin Jones, Gerald Wilson, Milt Jackson, Yusef Lateef, Donald Byrd, Tommy Flanagan, Kenny Burrell, Ron Carter, Joe Henderson, and others. As the city’s fortunes change, Stryker turns his spotlight toward often overlooked but prescient musician-run cooperatives and self-determination groups of the 1960s and ’70s, such as the Strata Corporation and Tribe. In more recent decades, the city’s culture of mentorship, embodied by trumpeter and teacher Marcus Belgrave, ensured that Detroit continued to incubate world-class talent; Belgrave protégés like Geri Allen, Kenny Garrett, Robert Hurst, Regina Carter, Gerald Cleaver, and Karriem Riggins helped define contemporary jazz. The resilience of Detroit’s jazz tradition provides a powerful symbol of the city’s lasting cultural influence. Stryker’s 21 years as an arts reporter and critic at the Detroit Free Press are evident in his vivid storytelling and insightful criticism. Jazz from Detroit will appeal to jazz aficionados, casual fans, and anyone interested in the vibrant and complex history of cultural life in Detroit.

In their introduction, "Angels of History, Demons of History," the editors allude to the complex social anxieties projected into concerns about youth. Contributors examine the problems of identity, juvenile delinquency, intergenerational tensions, and downward mobility, as well as more positive aspects of youth culture (art, activism, and cyber-communities)--in the early 20th century, the World War II/postwar era, and the contemporary scene. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Can you imagine a world without teenagers? Before the early 1900s, the word teenager was not even part of the American vocabulary. The concept of adolescence—those transitional years between childhood and adulthood—simply did not exist. Instead, families needed young people to contribute to the family’s earnings as soon as possible. “Everybody worked; it was a part of life, for there was no life without it,” wrote Edna Matthews Clifton of her teen years in Texas in the late 1800s. Many young people worked longs days and full weeks on farms or in factories. Such a schedule left little time for school or for fun. Throughout the 1900s, the idea of the teenager gradually began to take shape. A series of reforms put restrictions on child labor. Young people spent less time working and more time in school. They also began spending money on entertainment. Movie theaters and dance halls provided places for them to gather. Thirteen- to nineteen-year-olds established a unique culture that would continue to develop in the coming decades. In the twenty-first century, teens represent vital threads in the American fabric. Their spending choices affect both the economy and the way advertisers market products. Their taste in music, movies, and TV drives pop culture. And teens—for whom technology is a way of life—are the ones who will continue to push the boundaries of our technological future. From the flappers and jazz babies of the 1920s to the digital-savvy teens of the twenty-first century, you’re about to follow the fascinating evolution of the American teenager.

This book focuses on 50 of the most important entertainers in the history of country music, from its beginnings in the folk music of early America through the 1970s. Divided into five distinct categories, it discusses the pioneers who brought mountain music to mass audiences; cowboys and radio stars who spread country music countrywide; honky-tonk and bluegrass musicians who differentiated country music during the 1940s; the major contributions that female artists made to the genre; and the modern country sound which dominated the genre from the late 1950s to the mid-1980s. Each entry includes a brief biography of the chosen artist with special emphasis on experiences which influenced their musical careers. Covered musicians include Fiddlin' John Carson, Riley Puckett, Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Bob Wills, Bill Monroe, Hank Williams, Sr., Dale Evans, June Carter Cash, Loretta Lynn, Buck Owens, Roy Clark, Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard.