Book Reviews

SINGER’S SURVIVAL GUIDE TO TOURING (by Elisabeth Lohninger)

While universities do a credible job of training young jazz musicians for successful careers, the one course usually missing from the curriculum might be the most beneficial: “The Road 101”. Elisabeth Lohninger comes to the rescue with “Singer’s Survival Guide to Touring”, a comprehensive guide to life on the road. In his book review, Thomas Cunniffe notes that while the book is designed for vocalists, much of the information is equally applicable to instrumentalists.

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THE HISTORY OF EUROPEAN JAZZ (edited by Francesco Martinelli)

Jazz was born in the United States, but its influence spread across the world shortly after it was first recorded. Europe embraced the music, producing their own famous soloists. Thomas Cunniffe reviews the massive reference volume, “The History of European Jazz” (Equinox) and notes that its series of essays on each country’s jazz history makes the book seem more like a 3-D jigsaw puzzle than a comprehensive narrative.

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Book Reviews by Thomas Cunniffe

Billie Holiday: The Musician and The Myth (by John Szwed)

Published in time for Billie Holiday’s 100th birthday celebration, John Szwed’s new book, Billie Holiday: The Musician and The Myth is not a full-length biography, but it reads like notes for one. In his review, Thomas Cunniffe notes that Szwed’s in-depth discussion of Holiday’s autobiography is in-depth and thorough, but the musical discussions that follow are sketchy and uneven.

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Book Reviews by Thomas Cunniffe

David Baker: A Legacy in Music (edited by Monika Herzig)

David Baker, who passed away March 26, 2016 at the age of 84, was one of jazz’s true Renaissance men. Best known as a pioneer of jazz education, Baker was also a musician, author, composer, conductor, historian and activist. This month, Thomas Cunniffe reviews Monika Herzig’s collection of essays, David Baker: A Legacy in Music, which Cunniffe notes is a book that openly celebrates its subject, but is not always effective in relaying its wealth of information.

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Book Reviews by Thomas Cunniffe

Blowin’ Hot and Cool (by John Gennari)

No one ever became a jazz critic to be popular. Musicians reserve their strongest (and usually negative) opinions for those who earn their living publishing their viewpoints on the music. However, history shows us that critics have played a valuable role in the music’s development. John Gennari’s book Blowin’ Hot and Cool is the first full-fledged history of jazz criticism. Thomas Cunniffe reviews the book, finding both strengths and flaws in the author’s approach.

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Book Reviews by Thomas Cunniffe

More Important Than The Music (by Bruce Epperson)

Because so much of jazz history lies within the grooves of phonograph records, discography—the science of cataloging and detailing those records—is an important part of the historical canon. Up until now, the story of jazz discographers was told only in brief articles and offhand summaries, but Bruce Epperson’s new book “More Important than the Music” provides a thorough history of the discography. Thomas Cunniffe offers his reactions.

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Book Reviews by Thomas Cunniffe

Bird Lore

Charlie Parker’s life story has been so clouded with legends, exaggerations and half-truths, that biographies about the bebop genius have explored his life from a number of directions. In this month’s Book Review, Thomas Cunniffe examines wildly different Bird biographies by Chuck Haddix and Stanley Crouch.

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Book Reviews by Thomas Cunniffe

Benny Goodman’s Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert (by Catherine Tackley)

Published to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the event, Catherine Tackley’s monograph, Benny Goodman’s Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert examines the performance in great detail. As Thomas Cunniffe notes in his book review, Tackley’s book might have been more valuable with less musical analysis and more information about the recording’s enigmatic history.

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Book Reviews by Thomas Cunniffe

Dameronia: The Life and Music of Tadd Dameron (by Paul Combs)

While Tadd Dameron’s music has been beloved by jazz aficionados for decades, the details of his life and work remain quite elusive. Dameronia, a new book by Paul Combs, includes a persuasive argument for Dameron as a chief architect of bebop harmony, but as Thomas Cunniffe points out in his book review, Combs omits any discussion of Dameron’s unique voice-leading techniques.

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Book Reviews by Thomas Cunniffe

The Boswell Legacy (by Kyla Titus)

Don’t look now, but the Boswell Sisters are currently enjoying a resurgence in popularity. A recent gathering in New Orleans featured tribute groups from all over the globe, and a new documentary on the Boswells is due to air on PBS in 2015. Unfortunately, none of the sisters are still alive to take part, but Vet Boswell’s granddaughter, Kyla Titus, has just self-published a new biography, Boswell Legacy that clears up many of the mysteries surrounding the sister’s personal and professional histories. Thomas Cunniffe reviews this long-overdue book.

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Book Reviews by Thomas Cunniffe

Conversations with Bill Holman (edited by Bill Dobbins)

At the age of 90, Bill Holman is as active as ever, leading his LA-based big band, fulfilling commissions for new compositions and arrangements, and (in the near future) being the subject of a new documentary. Conversations with Bill Holman is the result of a week-long series of interviews conducted by Holman’s friend and colleague, Bill Dobbins. In his review, Thomas Cunniffe notes that most of the material is easily accessible to the average educated jazz fan, but that the reader should come in with knowledge of Holman’s famous scores.

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