For Beginners is a minor lecture on a major jazz figure, kept interesting through the interjection of famous rude quotes by Davis and the gruesome details of the trumpeter's love life. Anyone not willing to brave the matchless, two-volume (and counting) bio Milestones by Jack Chambers should give Long's booklet a shot. For Beginners' brevity may even help in assimilating the scope and complexity of Davis' monumental role in jazz history.
Eric Hobsbawm
The Jazz Scene
(Pantheon Books)
In the history of the known universe, this is one of the greatest books on jazz ever written. The Jazz Scene details crucial elements of the music that many works overlook: Hobsbawm lets the reader know how jazz is treated by the business end of the recording industry, why certain players are exalted while their equally talented peers are not, and something of the personality of jazz fans. Along with James Lincoln Collier's The Making of Jazz: A Comprehensive History, this may be the only other truly necessary book for a jazz diehard to read.
Most of The Jazz Scene was first published nearly 30 years ago, when English author Hobsbawm used the pseudonym Francis Newton as a means of keeping his jazz writings separate from his books on history.
Now that the highly respected jazz writer Newton has decided to reveal his Clark Kent identity, we see that The Jazz Scene is really two books of history in one--the music's and Hobsbawm's 60-year obsession with it. Fortunately, this intellectual writes from his heart, and we're spared the usual, dry, dates-and-places approach to grasping jazz. The book is a passionate memory of his affairs with every school and era of the genre to date.
Steve Turner
Van Morrison: Too Late to Stop Now
(Viking Penguin)
There are only two critical questions fans ask of any book on Van Morrison: 1) Does it explain Van the Man's spiritual beliefs better than his albums do? and 2) Are there a lot of those great stories about what a mean bastard he is?
Steve Turner's book actually deals with little else. In the religion department, the reader is given the impression that Turner looks to Morrison as his guru and wants to let us in on the Irishman's rather ethereal beliefs for the sake of our own edification. Little surprise that the author is disappointed with Morrison's recent disc, Too Long in Exile, since it strays from the mystical musing more than any release of Van's in a decade. The author instead uses quotes from the earlier recordings in an attempt to solidify Morrison's insoluble faith.
As for tales from the dark side, Turner is willing to repeat countless incidents of stood-up interviewers, fans insulted by Morrison and his tirades against the record industry. But he is not about to incur the wrath of his idol by commenting on the venom, let alone draw a conclusion regarding Morrison's Jekyll-and-Hyde personality.
No big deal. We're given a fine mix of piety and poison from the mouth of Morrison himself, making for an interesting read and an intriguing stab at psychoanalyzing the marvelous Mr. Moondance. Far too much space is given to his period with Them, the band that first brought him attention, but the wealth of rare photos makes up for the imbalance. A solid bio it's not, but the book's habit of leaving Van the predator to watch him pray is very engaging.
@hed:The Author Side of Music
@by:By Dave McElfresh
@jump:Books
@body:
this is the second feature for suntracks. book cover art is available.
Mac person: 33 and 1/3 needs to be fixed before making proof.
Thanks, Scott
Proofer: No deck, per Jeremy.
Thanks, Scott
