With a major collection of jazz poetry soon to be published in book form, this edition of Jerry Jazz Musician features poets from all over the world whose work has been published since our previous issue.  They write about the likes of John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Mary Lou Williams, Herbie Hancock, Billie Holiday, Miles Davis, and so many more…

You can read them (and in many cases hear the poets read their poems) by clicking here.

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(photo of Thelonious Monk, 1947, by William P. Gottlieb/Library of Congress)

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Interview with James Kaplan, author of 3 Shades of Blue: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans and the Lost Empire of Cool

The esteemed writer tells a story about the jazz world before, during, and after the 1959 recording of Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue, and how the album’s three genius musicians came together, played together, and grew together (and often apart) throughout the experience.

Short Fiction Contest-winning story #66 — “Not From Around Here” by Jeff Dingler

An appeal…

Dear Readers:

Reader funding helps support the expense of publishing this website, and to keep it free of advertising – which is a rarity in the dot-com world.  Many thanks to those who have recently contributed, and to those who have done so multiple times. Your support is very much appreciated.

If you are able, please consider making a contribution?  Information regarding how to do so is found by clicking here.

For viewing my long range vision for  Jerry Jazz Musician,  please click here.

Thank you!

Joe Maita

Editor/Publisher

Interview with Larry Tye, author of The Jazzmen: How Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie Transformed America

The author talks about his book, an intensely researched, spirited, and beautifully told story – and an important reminder that Armstrong, Ellington, and Basie all defied and overcame racial boundaries “by opening America’s eyes and souls to the magnificence of their music.”

Bob Hecht’s Playlists

In an ongoing series of extensive jazz playlists, the award-winning jazz producer and scholar Bob Hecht focuses his attention on solo unaccompanied performance (“The Naked Jazz Musician”), solo piano (“Alone at the Piano”), and duos (“Two of a Mind”), featuring memorable and hidden gem performances.  Look for upcoming playlists to include trios, quartets, quintets…

(photo of Dave Brubeck and Paul Desmond by Carl Van Vechten/Library of Congress)

Jazz History Quiz #174

This pianist was Billie Holiday’s regular accompanist during her last two years (1957 – 1959), and also played in the Eric Dolphy-Booker Little Quintet that recorded extensively at New York’s Five Spot in 1961. Who is he?

(photo of Billie Holiday by William P. Gottllieb/Library of Congress)

Excerpts from David Rife’s Jazz Fiction: Take Two – Vol. 5: “Scott Joplin: King of Ragtime”

A substantial number of novels and stories with jazz music as a component of the story have been published over the years, and the scholar David J. Rife has written short essay/reviews of them.  In this fifth edition featuring excerpts from his book, Rife writes about three novels that include stories about Scott Joplin, the primary forerunner and significant influencer of jazz.

A book excerpt from Designed for Success: Better Living and Self-Improvement with Midcentury Instructional Records, by Janet Borgerson and Jonathan Schroeder
 

In this excerpt, the cultural historians write extensively about music instruction and appreciation records dealing with the subject of jazz.

Also in this issue…

Malcolm McCollum’s essay on Bix Beiderbecke, “Like a Girl Saying Yes“; new editions of True Jazz Stories; Trading Fours with Douglas Cole, and new book excerpts, poetry, In Memoriam, short fiction and playlists

Click here for the previous issue of Jerry Jazz Musician

(photo of Bix Beiderbecke via Wikimedia Commons)

Coming Soon to Jerry Jazz Musician