Notes and Tones: Musician-To-Musician Interviews

Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: A genuinely fascinating collection of interviews with some of the most important jazz figures of the 1950s-60s. (It's worth the purchase price just for the goofy, entertaining exchange with Dexter Gordon which opens the book.) Not only do you get an unusually intimate sense of what some of these brilliant musicians were/are actually like in "real life," but the book is particularly interesting--and frank--about the subject of race, in the jazz world and beyond. If you love jazz, don't miss this book.

Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: A genuinely fascinating collection of interviews with some of the most important jazz figures of the 1950s-60s. (It's worth the purchase price just for the goofy, entertaining exchange with Dexter Gordon which opens the book.) Not only do you get an unusually intimate sense of what some of these brilliant musicians were/are actually like in "real life," but the book is particularly interesting--and frank--about the subject of race, in the jazz world and beyond. If you love jazz, don't miss this book.

Rating:
Summary: A classic for the mind, body and spirit
Review: Arthur Taylor, a most creative source of a force in the drumming world, has created a moving, startling, and lovely group of interviews of some of the most influential artists in jazz (Black Classical) music. Giants like; Thelonious Monk, Erroll Garner, Elvin Jones, Nina Simone, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie and so many others paint images of pointedness, beauty, intellect and feeling. The reader really gets an insight into the personalities and lives of these wonderful people that are the lineage of the only true American art form. I really recomend the book to anyone, from the person who has had one passing thought about jazz artists to those who dedicate their life to the art form, or any artform. This is, as they say, the real deal. I am humbled by Mr. Taylor's wonderful work and, in my own way, feel love for each of the unique artists that he interviews. Thank You Arthur!

Rating:
Summary: A 5* classic
Review: Simply a classic! There is no other book written on jazz that even comes close. A.T.'s questions were intelligent, pointed and insightful. I loved the interview format. It gave the musicians an even wider canvas to paint on. The no-holds-barred and candid portrait of Black life should be a book to cherish for ages to come.

Rating:
Summary: A 5* classic
Review: Simply a classic! There is no other book written on jazz that even comes close. A.T.'s questions were intelligent, pointed and insightful. I loved the interview format. It gave the musicians an even wider canvas to paint on. The no-holds-barred and candid portrait of Black life should be a book to cherish for ages to come.