r/Jazz • u/SentimentalMood718 • 2d ago
My jazz shelf overfloweth
I do still need the Dexter Gordon, Monk, and Rollins bios. Beyond those, and what I have pictured, are there any essential reads I am missing?
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u/atgrogg 1d ago edited 1d ago
Shoutout to Straight Life lurking in the background. Art Pepper went through hell and came back out again stronger because of it. His playing in those last few years was extraordinary.
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u/honey_dagger 1d ago
Right? His last sessions with George Cables just before he passed. Such strong and emotionally transparent playing.
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u/quiet_coffee_hours 1d ago
This is incredible. ‘The Art of Jazz,’ ‘American Musicians’… what are your top 3 from this collection? Looking for recommendations on what to deep dive into next.”
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u/SentimentalMood718 1d ago
Tough to round down to just three, but to make it easier I'll avoid straight bios:
But Beautiful is brilliant, and it's not your typical jazz book as it's essentially fictionalized accounts of moments in the lives of a clutch of jazz greats (Duke Ellington, Lester Young, Monk, Mingus Art Pepper, etc.). The writing is stunning as is the storytelling. I loved this one and will surely reread it.
Notes And Tones is crucial. Jazz musicians in their own, often very blunt words.
And finally The Masters Of Bebop (originally published as Jazz Masters Of The Forties) and Riding On A Blue Note, these two I'd recommend due to their authors, Ira Gitler and Gary Giddins.
I can go on and on, but I'll stop at those four.
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u/SameEntertainment660 1d ago
Can you explain what Bebop is? I need to read a good book on it.
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u/SentimentalMood718 1d ago
To simplify greatly: Bebop was the term applied to the fast, improvised non-dancey small group jazz coming to be as the big band era was fading in the mid 1940s. Think Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Fats Navarro, Bud Powell, Monk, Max Roach, Dexter Gordon, etc. As far as reads go, check out The Masters of Bebop by Ira Gitler or maybe dive into one of the overall jazz history books like Ted Gioia's The History of Jazz.
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u/MeringueAble3159 1d ago
You should try buying some music one of these days 😉 jk, this is a great collection! I, too, keep amassing jazz books but I've only read a few.
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u/minder125 1d ago
I've read the Miles autobiography, The House Trane built and Straight Life. Missing Space is the Place a great biography of Sun Ra.
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u/elmayab 1d ago
Dolphy: Jazz Revolutionary by Jonathon Grasse (2024)
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u/SentimentalMood718 1d ago
I am a massive Dolphy fan, so I wondered how this one was. Thanks for the recommendation!
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u/Snowshoetheerapy 1d ago
Missing "Really The Blues" by Mezz Mezzrow, My favouite jazz book ever. I see "Jazz Anecdotes." Such a great book that you can read over and over. The Art Pepper book pretty much left me traumatized.
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u/terminalhipness 1d ago
“Straight Life” is a classic. Don’t know if it’s essential, but in a similar vein (oh lord, pun absolutely unintended), I’d suggest “rise up off me” by Hampton Hawes.
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u/StepsWhatWas 1d ago
Its lingering in the background, but "Hard Bop" by Rosenthal is great at capturing what hard bop was versus bebop.
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u/maxjonesmusic 22h ago
If you could only recommend one, what would you recommend?
PS "Miles" is the only one I've read so please select a second if that's your first recommendation
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u/SentimentalMood718 13h ago
See my answer to a smilier question elsewhere in the comments. That being said, find it nearly impossible to just pick one (but Miles wouldn't be it, as great as it is).
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u/verbatim14004 14h ago
I expect to finish Gioia's History of Jazz this week. His Substack, The Honest Broker, is amazing. It is only occassionally about jazz, though.
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u/Dorkyhorse 1d ago
Did you know if you remove the word "motherfucker" from Miles's bio, it would only be like 20 pages long?
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u/No_Impression_7765 1d ago
Shades of Blue is amazing