Nigel Kennedy changed the course of classical music in the late 1980s with his interpretation of Vivaldi’s ‘Four Seasons’. He was revolutionary: in his performance and presentation; in his technique and his open-minded attitude. A natural boundary-pusher and musical adventurer, Nigel Kennedy blew minds
The jazz musician-composer-arranger Mary Lou Williams spent her sixty-year career working in—and stretching beyond—a dizzying range of musical styles. Her integration of classical music into her works helped expand jazz's compositional language. Her generosity made her a valued ......
In Thriving on a Riff, Presbyterian minister and jazz pianist Bill Carter traces the meaning and spirituality of jazz, inviting us to meet a God who not only embraces syncopation but blesses the swing.
What does jazz have to do with human spirituality?
African American Islam, Jazz, and Black Internationalism
"Black Fundamentalists illuminates how early twentieth century fundamentalism manifested in unique ways across the color line, illustrating how racial context, racial identity, and concerns for racial justice can shape religious expression even within theologically conservative traditions"--
Jazz legend Cootie Williams left home to start his career as a professional musician at the age of fifteen. In 1940, after eleven years as one of the major soloists with the Duke Ellington orchestra, Williams was lured away to the band of Benny Goodman, one of the most popular bands in the country. At the time, it was a controversial move-it was ......
Jazz legend Cootie Williams left home to start his career as a professional musician at the age of fifteen. In 1940, after eleven years as one of the major soloists with the Duke Ellington orchestra, Williams was lured away to the band of Benny Goodman, one of the most popular bands in the country. At the time, it was a controversial move-it was ......
Have Horn, Will Travel is the first full-length biography of tenor saxophone virtuoso and in-demand sideman Herman "Junior" Cook, chronicling his life and impact from his Pensacola, Florida, origins to his New York City-based career. Best known for his association with pianist Horace Silver's iconic quintet from 1958 to 1964, Cook continued as a ......
The Extraordinary Life and Music of Frank Sinatra, Jr.
As an American singer, conductor, composer, and actor, Frank Sinatra, Jr. (1944-2016) had a long and successful music career and was recognized for his many contributions to American popular song. Yet, his own star has often been overshadowed by his world-famous father. The first book ever published about Frank Sinatra, Jr., Let Me Be Frank: The ......
In On the Way to the Sky: Remembering Bob Brookmeyer, author Michael Stephans has created a rich, multifaceted paean to jazz icon Bob Brookmeyer, the much-beloved musical genius who passed away in 2011, four days short of his 82nd birthday. On the Way to the Sky is a hybrid book in that it's part memoir, part biography, with over a dozen essays by ......
