Composers and songwriters Books

Book SynopsisOne of America’s most beloved folk singers, Arlo Guthrie was at the pinnacle of his fame in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Yet Guthrie’s career extends far beyond his years in the celebrity spotlight. Rising Son, written by Hank Reineke, recounts the veteran musician’s second act, from the early 1980s to the present.Trade Review“An elegantly written, well-researched listening companion for fans. The passages of Arlo Guthrie’s own words add a lot of texture to the book.”—Gustavus Stadler, author of Woody Guthrie: An Intimate Life “This book concludes Hank Reineke’s chronicle of Arlo Guthrie’s recording and performing career, following on from his previous volume, Arlo Guthrie: The Warner/Reprise Years. Taken together, these two volumes provide the most detailed account of the professional career of one of the most important singer-songwriters of the American twentieth and twenty-first centuries.”—Will Kaufman, author of Woody Guthrie, American Radical, Woody Guthrie’s Modern World Blues, and Mapping Woody Guthrie

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Book SynopsisLouisiana's unique multicultural history has led to the development of more styles of American music than anywhere else in the country. Encyclopedia of Louisiana Musicians compiles over 1,600 native creators, performers, and recorders of the state's indigenous musical genres.

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Book SynopsisA contribution to the history of the blues and of Afro-American culture in general. Writing from a black/feminist standpoint, Harrison shows the joys, trials, heartbreaks and enduring influence of such singers as Victoria Spivey and Alberta Hunter.Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction 1. Riding "Toby" to the Big Time 2. "Crazy Blues" Starts a New Craze 3. "Wild Women Don't Have the Blues": Blues from the Black Woman's Perspective 4. "Up the Country..." and Still Singing the Blues: Sippie Wallace 5. Blue Was Her Business: Victoria Spivey 6. "He Used to Be Your Man..." But He's Edith Wilson's Now 7. She's Got a Mind to Ramble: Alberta Hunter Conclusion Other Blues Singers Selected Blues Titles by Women Notes Glossary of Colloquialisms Selected Discography Bibliography Subject Index Index of Song Titles

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewFrom Library JournalThis new collection of scholarly articles on Bob Dylan proves that there are new angles from which to approach his life, his artistic evolution, and his unmatched influence on music and culture. Dylan is inarguably one of the most dissected and discussed artists, musical or otherwise, of the last half-century, and these 20 distinctive, thoughtful, and erudite essays by, e.g., Greil Marcus and international academics from a variety of disciplines such as linguistics, music theory, and African American studies are all welcome additions. As Sheehy (director & CEO, Plains Art Museum) and Swiss (coeditor, New Media Poetics) explain, the articles here do not attempt to solve the myriad puzzles surrounding Dylan; rather, the book poses familiar questions in a fresh manner. Contributions about how Bobby Zimmerman from rural Minnesota became international cultural icon Bob Dylan, what influences his songwriting, and how his songs are having a global impact will be of strong interest to scholars and fans alike. —Douglas King, Univ. of South Carolina Lib., Columbia

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Book SynopsisNeither a true biography in the Boswellian sense nor a work of cultural studies, although it combines elements of both. Even as biographer Jerry Grillo has investigated and pursued the facts, this life history of Col. Bruce reads like a novel-one full of amazing and hard-to-believe tales of a musical life lived on and off the road.

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Book SynopsisPresents the biography of Ernest Tubb. Tracing a career that began in the 1930s and continued until just a few years before Tubb's death in 1984, this title also presents the long and legendary life of the Texas Troubadour and also an unparalleled view of the world of country music in which Ernest Tubb played an essential part.Trade Review“Ernest Tubb . . . he was always bigger than life to me. Every time I sang with him, it was always the same . . . he is immortal. His life and helping hand touched mine and many more in a special way. Ronnie Pugh captured the heart and soul of Ernest Tubb in Ernest Tubb: The Texas Troubadour. This book should be a part of every country music fan’s library.”—Loretta Lynn“In many ways, Tubb is the father of modern country music, and this book is the definitive account of his career. It chronicles an age of country music that has too often been ignored by earlier writers in the field, a terra incognita in which are found the wellsprings of modern country music and the methods of presenting it. This is the best biography of any modern country music artist I have read. It will become a definitive book on American culture.”—Charles Wolfe, author of Kentucky Country, Tennessee Strings and co-author of The Life and Legend of Leadbelly“Ronnie Pugh has spent years studying and researching the life and career of my father, Ernest Tubb . . . and the picture he has painted is right on the money! It’s all here, the good and the bad. Reading the book was like having my dad back for a little while.”—Justin Tubb“The first phonograph record I ever purchased was by Ernest Tubb. He was my hero long before he became my friend. Country music has never produced a kinder, gentler, more caring humanitarian than the Texas Troubadour. Ronnie Pugh’s book is a vivid and touching portrayal of a gifted entertainer and a marvelous human being.”—Bill Anderson“This book takes its place as a standard in country music studies. Ronnie Pugh’s outstanding scholarship goes very far beyond much that remains tawdry in pop culture hype. He stands with Bill Malone, Bob Pinson, Joe Dan Boyd, Dave Whisnant, and fellow ‘natives’ who loved ‘their’ music in childhood and, as adults, paid it the dues of critical respect.”—Archie Green, author of Only a Miner and Wobblies, Pile Butts, and Other Heroes

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Book SynopsisWith the exception of a few dance recordings, including "Is It All Over My Face?" and "Go Bang! numbered 5", Arthur Russell's pioneering music was largely forgotten until the issue of two albums in 2004 triggered a revival of interest. This title presents the life Russell.Trade Review“[A] sensitive and thorough biography. . . . In a sense, Arthur Russell was so much a part of his times that he tended to disappear into them, blending in with so many different scenes that the camouflage seemed at times to have taken over. Lawrence notes, for example, how many previous accounts of the New York downtown scene fail to notice him at all. With Hold On to Your Dreams, the outline of an outstanding and prescient artist can now be more clearly made out.” - Ken Hollings, The Wire“[W]hat makes this book valuable is that Russell’s shadowy ubiquity turns an ostensible biography into a first draft of that elusive comprehensive history of the downtown performing arts. Hold On to Your Dreams has to go everywhere, because that’s where Russell went. . . . [E]ven if you didn’t know about Russell and are not yet persuaded to pursue him further, this is still a book worth reading. . . . Psychologically, Russell emerges as indeed fascinating, more fascinating than his music, as a maverick without, Lawrence notes, the feisty self-righteousness such figures often embody. . . . Russell has inspired a book that helps us understand a thrilling twenty-five years of American cultural history.” - John Rockwell, Bookforum“[An exhaustive, often spellbinding account of the life of one of music’s true maverick enigmas. . . . While the book provides many fresh insights into the 80s downtown hotbed, Russell emerges as a strange, fragile figure, in a monumental work. Hold On To Your Dreams is a captivating record of a true original’s all-too-brief life.” - Kris Needs, Record Collector“The passionate, revelatory anecdotes collected here follow Russell through those liminal downtown nightclubs, loft spaces, and recording studios that made his life and music possible.” - Carol Cooper, Village Voice“[A]n exemplary demonstration of exactly what a biography should do. In his rigorously researched investigation of musician and composer Arthur Russell, cultural theory lecturer Tim Lawrence effortlessly explores his subject and in so doing shines fresh light on the darkened recesses of both New York's downtown music scene and the popular cultural landscape of Russell's times. And despite Russell's relative obscurity, the book leaves you in no doubt as to how influential this maverick music figure has been.” - Martin James, Times Higher Education Supplement“Hold On to Your Dreams tells the story of an artist whose life becomes more intriguing with every turn. Inspiring and written with love, this book takes us to the roots of Arthur Russell’s music, from the streets of New York to the cornfields of Iowa.”—Jens Lekman, musician“Tim Lawrence has written a fascinating and insightful biography of a sensitive and searching soul. Arthur Russell was a personal artist whose musical vision led him to coexist in seemingly incompatible worlds. Through the lens of Arthur Russell’s life (never clouded with material success or celebrity), Tim Lawrence gives us a sharp and singular portrait of late-twentieth-century American life. A fine read, with a depth and detail that resonate with Arthur Russell’s sparkle and wit.”—Peter Gordon, Love of Life Orchestra“With rich and animated detail, Tim Lawrence tracks Arthur Russell’s insatiable drive to integrate so-called serious music and pop. This definitive biography is both an engrossing record of Russell’s musical ambitions and a compelling account of the fertile downtown scene that supported his admirable dreams.”—Matt Wolf, director of Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell“[A] sensitive and thorough biography. . . . In a sense, Arthur Russell was so much a part of his times that he tended to disappear into them, blending in with so many different scenes that the camouflage seemed at times to have taken over. Lawrence notes, for example, how many previous accounts of the New York downtown scene fail to notice him at all. With Hold On to Your Dreams, the outline of an outstanding and prescient artist can now be more clearly made out.” -- Ken Hollings * The Wire *“[A]n exemplary demonstration of exactly what a biography should do. In his rigorously researched investigation of musician and composer Arthur Russell, cultural theory lecturer Tim Lawrence effortlessly explores his subject and in so doing shines fresh light on the darkened recesses of both New York's downtown music scene and the popular cultural landscape of Russell's times. And despite Russell's relative obscurity, the book leaves you in no doubt as to how influential this maverick music figure has been.” -- Martin James * Times Higher Education *“[An exhaustive, often spellbinding account of the life of one of music’s true maverick enigmas. . . . While the book provides many fresh insights into the 80s downtown hotbed, Russell emerges as a strange, fragile figure, in a monumental work. Hold On To Your Dreams is a captivating record of a true original’s all-too-brief life.” -- Kris Needs * Record Collector *“[W]hat makes this book valuable is that Russell’s shadowy ubiquity turns an ostensible biography into a first draft of that elusive comprehensive history of the downtown performing arts. Hold On to Your Dreams has to go everywhere, because that’s where Russell went. . . . [E]ven if you didn’t know about Russell and are not yet persuaded to pursue him further, this is still a book worth reading. . . . Psychologically, Russell emerges as indeed fascinating, more fascinating than his music, as a maverick without, Lawrence notes, the feisty self-righteousness such figures often embody. . . . Russell has inspired a book that helps us understand a thrilling twenty-five years of American cultural history.” -- John Rockwell * Bookforum *“The passionate, revelatory anecdotes collected here follow Russell through those liminal downtown nightclubs, loft spaces, and recording studios that made his life and music possible.” -- Carol Cooper * Village Voice *Table of ContentsIllustrations xi Preface xv Acknowledgments xxiii Introduction 1 1. Formations (1951–1973) 11 2. Explorations (1973–1975) 47 3. Alternatives (1975–1977) 83 4. Intensities (1977–1980) 125 5. Variations (1980–1984) 179 6. Reverberations (1984–1987) 247 7. Tangents (1987–1992) 293 Epilogue 341 Notes 359 Discography 377 Bibliography 387 Index 393

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Book SynopsisPaying particular attention to hula performances that toured throughout the U.S. beginning in the late nineteenth century, Adria L. Imada investigates the role of hula in the American colonization of Hawai'i.Trade Review"Attentive to global forces of U.S. imperialism and to the agency of discrete cultural producers, Adria L. Imada conceives of Hawaiian hula as constitutive of colonial relations involving collaboration and resistance. Moreover and significantly, 'hula circuits' outside of Hawai`i, she suggests, sustained Hawaiian culture (and hence nationhood) even as they transformed it—an astute and provocative contention."—Gary Y. Okihiro, author of Island World: A History of Hawai’i and the United States"In Aloha America, Adria L. Imada shows how U.S. elites used a blend of tropicalism and orientalism to facilitate U.S. domination over Hawai'i. By foregrounding the eroticized bodies of Hawaiian women hula dancers, these elites created what Imada calls an 'imagined intimacy' between the U.S. public and the subjugated Hawaiians. The sexualized images of Hawaiian women helped to occlude resistance to U.S. imperialism in the Pacific and to make Hawai'i suitable for statehood by shifting Americans' attention away from its large Asian immigrant population. At the same time, hula served as a countercolonial archive of collective Hawaiian memory, preserving preconquest histories, epistemologies, and ontologies."—George Lipsitz, author of How Racism Takes Place“[An] extensively researched history. . . . Archival digs brought Imada into contact with surviving dancers and their families, whose stories she wove with her own experiences to produce a comprehensive account of how the “adaptive and resilient practice” of hula works in conjunction with tourism. . . .Fascinating photographs of the dancers—with careful commentary on poses and dress—illuminate the mannerisms and views of the performers. “ * Publishers Weekly *“For a reader who is not deeply familiar with hula and its culture, and may be guilty of watching hula simply for the entertainment factor, Aloha America is a refreshing page-turner. Albeit the moderate level of scholarly information, Imada makes the text easy to digest, also injecting touching anecdotes of hula life behind the stage lights. The final product is a book that is more an interesting field study than strict academic rhetoric.” -- Jamie Noguchi * Honolulu Weekly *“Well written and beautifully illustrated with archival photographs, the book provides dynamic portrayals of individual Hawaiians…With chapter 3, on world exhibitions in the United States, as the book’s centerpiece, Imada tells a lively and layered history of hula circuits in the U.S. empire, an important story about hula practices and people operating beyond Hawaii but never outside its politics.” -- Cristina Bacchilega * Journal of American History *“Aloha America is an impressive and provocative book. It will command a broad readership among scholars of American studies, colonial and postcolonial studies, gender studies, indigenous studies, performance studies, and U.S. history.” -- Christine Skwiot * American Historical Review *“In Aloha America, Adria L. Imada offers a nuanced and detailed study of how hula performers from Hawai’i negotiated the objectifying gaze of audiences...Imada writes in a clear and engaging style, breaking down the theoretical concepts she draws from in concise and digestible fashion.” -- Vernadette V. Gonzalez * Hawaiian Journal of History *“Aloha America is an original, important contribution to Asian American studies as it foregrounds Hawaiian cultural movements, U.S. imperialism in the Pacific, and the embodied and emotional intimacies that shape gendered and sexualized relations between colonized and colonizer. It is theoretically sophisticated, empirically robust, and highly engaging...” -- Miliann Kang * Journal of Asian American Studies *“Aloha America is a richly textured and engaging narrative of the fraught relationship between the United States and Hawai’i as seen through the lens of hula, the region’s most recognizable and widely circulated cultural practice…. This is an utterly engaging and thorough work of scholarship, and it is a welcome contribution to the fields of dance, theatre, and performance studies, one that also deeply engages indigenous studies, gender studies, and American studies frameworks…. What Imada provides is a deep understanding of racially mixed, commoner-status, (mostly) female artists’ lives as they navigated the globe, imperial politics, and their own modern desires.” -- Angela K. Ahlgren * Theatre Journal *Table of ContentsNote on Language ix Acknowledgments xi Introduction. Aloha America 1 1. Lady Jane at the Boathouse: The Intercultural World of Hula 29 2. Modern Desires and Counter-Colonial Tactics: Gender, Performance, and the Erotics of Empire 59 3. Impresarios on the Midway: World's Fairs and Colonial Politics 103 4. "Hula Queens" and "Cinderella": Imagined Intimacy in the Empire 153 5. The Troupes Meet the Troops: Imperial Hospitality and Military Photography in the Pacific Theater 213 Epilogue. New Hula Movements 255 Chronology. Hawai'i Exhibits at International Expositions, 1894–1915 269 Abbreviations of Collections, Libraries, and Archives 271 Notes 273 Glossary 337 Bibliography 339 Index 357

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Book SynopsisTony Allen is the autobiography of legendary Nigerian drummer Tony Allen, the rhythmic engine of Fela Kuti's Afrobeat.Trade Review“There’s a sentence in the introduction where Veal, a Yale professor, uses the phrase ‘indigenization of jazz drumming’, but don’t let that put you off. The academic is present primarily to transcribe and edit, while Allen reflects on 50 years at the coalface. . . One of the great sidemen, Allen here cuts mercilessly through the bullshit.” -- David Hutcheon * Mojo *“Allen bring us his inspirational biography. Written together with Michael Veal, author of Fela Kuti’s biography, this is the most accessible Afrobeat book of them all. . . . Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in the history of West-African popular music.” * AfrobeatMusic.net *“Tony Allen is a fascinating insider’s view of how a musician and a musical style developed over time. Allen is a compelling storyteller and sharp observer whose memories bring forth a stream of ideas, anecdotes, humor, and life lessons that add up to an insightful auto-ethnography. Well-organized and concise, the book flows as a story of one of the most important West African musicians of the past 50 years, a narrative of creativity in post-colonial African popular music, and sound advice on how to have a long and productive career in music.” -- Thomas Brett * Popular Music and Society *“This master drummer’s account is enriched by unstinting critical appraisal, whether evaluating Fela’s most loved recordings or his own subsequent solo efforts. Tony Allen, ever restless, retains the enthusiasm of an absolute beginner, tempered with a survivor’s wisdom. His life obviously a work in progress, one anticipates music yet to come and the stories that surface in its wake.” -- Richard Henderson * The Wire *“[D]rummers are going to love this book. With so few autobiographies of drummers in print, the publication of Tony Allen: An Autobiography of the Master Drummer of Afrobeat is a cause for celebration. . . . Most importantly, the book is a hell of a lot of fun to read, although Allen's first-hand accounts of his struggles with shamanistic bandleader and Nigeria's adopted ‘black president’ Fela Anikulapo-Kuti will piss off any musician who has had to fight to get paid for playing a gig." -- Chris Becker * All About Jazz *“After decades of being underpaid and underappreciated for his contributions with Kuti and beyond, it’s satisfying to see Tony Allen: An Autobiography of the Master Drummer of Afrobeat in print. Drummers, fans of African music, and lovers of music more generally will find a lot to love in this book.” -- Zachary Stockill * Popmatters *"There is much to enjoy from his account of growing up and becoming part of 'swinging Lagos' pre 1978, before it was unsafe to venture out at night. The part describing his musical influences and relationship with Fela Kuti is illuminating. Tony, one of the originators of Afrobeat, still plays to sellout crowds in his seventies . . . demonstrating that age is just a number. Allen's autobiography is a gem." * The Voice *“Anyone who knows their Afrobeat will tell you how pivotal the kit drummer Tony Allen was to the genre’s development. Indeed, as . . . Michael Veal points out in this important, deftly crafted book, the pairing of Allen and the late great Fela Anikulapo Kuti could be likened to partnerships between such jazz supernovas as Coltrane and Elvin Jones; Miles and Philly Joe Jones; Ornette and Billy Higgins.” -- Jane Cornwel * Jazzwise *“This is not a slice of dry academia, what we get in this incredibly fruitful collaboration is 160 pages of rich revealing narrative that is so engrossing that I missed my stop on the tube. . . . Basically, I couldn’t put the book down and it had me sifting through the records to provide a soundtrack to the narrative.” -- Paul Brad * Ancient to Future *“This is a much needed, truly fascinating book. . . . Allen spins the tale of his life, and of the evolution of one of the great popular musical styles of the 20th century, like the great storyteller he is. It’s a narrative filled with tasty anecdotes and twinkling details, which just add to its momentum. You can almost see the wry smile on his face as he challenges you to make up his own mind . . . Allen’s totally absorbing narrative was edited and shaped by Michael E. Veal. . . . In his introduction he treats us to an unbeatably succinct, lucidly accurate contextual analysis of Allen as a ‘Yoruba modernist’. He also gets to grips with how the Allen technique works. . . . This is highly readable and highly recommended.” -- Max Reinhardt * Songlines *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction / Michael E. Veal 1 1. Right in the Center of Lagos 21 2. Highlife Time 36 3. The Sky was the Limit 47 4. God's Own Country 68 5. Swinging Like Hell! 85 6. Everything Scatter 108 7. Progress 128 8. When One Road Closes . . . 146 9. Paris Blues 162 10. No End to Business 175 Selected References 187 Index 193

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Book SynopsisPart ethnography, part biography, and part Caribbean music history, Roy Cape is about the making of reputation and circulation, and about the meaning of labor and work ethics. An experiment in storytelling, it joins Roy's voice with that of ethnomusicologist Jocelyne Guilbault.Trade Review“The book is rich in the details of Cape’s life and his times. . . .Recommended.” -- T. E. Miller * Choice *“This is a superb book on a much-neglected area of world music: the pivotal role played by the bandleader, who for too long has remained in the shadows.” -- Charles de Ledesma * Songlines *"The unique style of interweaving storytelling and anthropological research with the voices of Roy Cape, the subject of this work, and Jocelyne Guilbault, an astute ethnomusicologist, is both refreshing and exciting.... Roy Cape: A Life on the Calypso and Soca Bandstand is a mustread for all researchers, students, aspiring musicians, and aficionados of popular music in general and of Caribbean music and popular music culture in particular." -- Donna P. Hope * Journal of Anthropological Research *"Jocelyne Guilbault... is one of the few non-Caribbean ethnomusicologists who has researched Eastern Caribbean music as if she is an insider, particularly from the perspective of band members rather than headline singers. Together in unique collaboration, this matched pair has created a short book that both illuminates the career of a pivotal musician and constructs a refreshing approach to narrative, diologic ethnomusicology." -- Donald Hill * American Anthropologist *“Roy Cape: A Life on the Calypso and Soca Bandstand is a successful path finding experiment in terms of its content as well as of its form…. In departing from traditional or conventional biography towards the multivocal, multimodal presentation of Roy Cape, the book alters researchers to the fact that they, like Nobel-Prize winner Derek Walcott, need to create new metaphors for and forms of communicating our collective (musical) experience.” -- Louis Regis * World of Music *"[A]n admirable collaboration, both in producing new perspectives to existing Caribbean scholarship and in demonstrating that there is still much to learn from 'behind the scenes' of the West Indian carnival music industry." -- Amelia K. Ingram * Latin American Music Review *"[W]hile reading Roy Cape, readers may end up feeling as though they are sitting around a coffee table in Trinidad with Guilbault and Cape, passing around old pictures and telling school stories or reminiscing about bands, sometimes with friends dropping by to lime (laugh, joke, drink, and tell stories)." -- Gage Averill * Musicultures *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations ix Acknowledgments xi Notes on the Text xv Introduction 1 1. For the Love of Music: Up from the Panyards and at the Orphanage 23 2. Working as a Bandsman 42 3. Listening to Roy Sounding 76 4. Leading the Band 99 5. Remembering with Pictures 135 6. Working with Roy: Musicians and Friends Speak 183 7. Circulation: Summarizing a Career 207 Afterword. Writing Voices 229 Notes 233 Select Discography 259 References 261 About the Companion CD 277 Index 279

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Book SynopsisPart ethnography, part biography, and part Caribbean music history, Roy Cape is about the making of reputation and circulation, and about the meaning of labor and work ethics. An experiment in storytelling, it joins Roy's voice with that of ethnomusicologist Jocelyne Guilbault.Trade Review“The book is rich in the details of Cape’s life and his times. . . .Recommended.” -- T. E. Miller * Choice *“This is a superb book on a much-neglected area of world music: the pivotal role played by the bandleader, who for too long has remained in the shadows.” -- Charles de Ledesma * Songlines *"The unique style of interweaving storytelling and anthropological research with the voices of Roy Cape, the subject of this work, and Jocelyne Guilbault, an astute ethnomusicologist, is both refreshing and exciting.... Roy Cape: A Life on the Calypso and Soca Bandstand is a mustread for all researchers, students, aspiring musicians, and aficionados of popular music in general and of Caribbean music and popular music culture in particular." -- Donna P. Hope * Journal of Anthropological Research *"Jocelyne Guilbault... is one of the few non-Caribbean ethnomusicologists who has researched Eastern Caribbean music as if she is an insider, particularly from the perspective of band members rather than headline singers. Together in unique collaboration, this matched pair has created a short book that both illuminates the career of a pivotal musician and constructs a refreshing approach to narrative, diologic ethnomusicology." -- Donald Hill * American Anthropologist *“Roy Cape: A Life on the Calypso and Soca Bandstand is a successful path finding experiment in terms of its content as well as of its form…. In departing from traditional or conventional biography towards the multivocal, multimodal presentation of Roy Cape, the book alters researchers to the fact that they, like Nobel-Prize winner Derek Walcott, need to create new metaphors for and forms of communicating our collective (musical) experience.” -- Louis Regis * World of Music *"[A]n admirable collaboration, both in producing new perspectives to existing Caribbean scholarship and in demonstrating that there is still much to learn from 'behind the scenes' of the West Indian carnival music industry." -- Amelia K. Ingram * Latin American Music Review *"[W]hile reading Roy Cape, readers may end up feeling as though they are sitting around a coffee table in Trinidad with Guilbault and Cape, passing around old pictures and telling school stories or reminiscing about bands, sometimes with friends dropping by to lime (laugh, joke, drink, and tell stories)." -- Gage Averill * Musicultures *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations ix Acknowledgments xi Notes on the Text xv Introduction 1 1. For the Love of Music: Up from the Panyards and at the Orphanage 23 2. Working as a Bandsman 42 3. Listening to Roy Sounding 76 4. Leading the Band 99 5. Remembering with Pictures 135 6. Working with Roy: Musicians and Friends Speak 183 7. Circulation: Summarizing a Career 207 Afterword. Writing Voices 229 Notes 233 Select Discography 259 References 261 About the Companion CD 277 Index 279

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisChronically associates artistic maturity either with transcendence, degeneration, or irrelevance. This volume looks to the non-representational arts of music, abstract painting and sculpture, and architecture for fresh insight into the juncture of aesthetics and mortality.

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Book SynopsisPresents for the first time the complete surviving correspondence of the outstanding Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos [1887-1959], one of the most colourful figures in twentieth-century music.This complete edition of the letters of the Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos, collected for the first time in any language, details his stay in the Paris of the 1920s, his work in Brazil and the 1930s and `40s and his international travels as conductor of his own music. The letters also discuss commissions for ballets, concertos and other works. Lisa M. Peppercorn, who knew Villa-Lobos, is the acknowledged expert on the life and music of this colourful figure, and she gives a detailed commentary on the events giving rise to the letters. A chronology gives a detailed account of Villa-Lobos' life, which is thoroughly illustrated with photographs of the persons and places associated with Villa-Lobos, facsimiles of works and concert programmes, and so on. The letters thus form a guide to the most productive years of his life.

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Book SynopsisThis first volume of a projected two volume study of the music of John Jenkins concentrates exclusively on his consorts for viols.John Jenkins (1592-1678) was both the most prolific and most esteemed of English composers between the death of Byrd and the rise of Purcell. During his long life he was employed as a resident musician in East Anglian noble households and became a court musician to Charles II in his later years.This is the first in a two-volume study of Jenkins and his music. It presents a biographical introduction to the composer then concerns itself exclusively with the superb consorts for viols which dominate the early part of the composer's career. It is profusely illustrated with music examples and discusses virtually every work in this form. ANDREW ASHBEE is an internationally renowned expert on C17th English instrumental music, has edited a number of volumes of music from the period, and is an author, broadcaster and lecturer.Trade ReviewAshbee's...scholarship is exemplary and his book is easy to read...an extremely important contribution to our knowledge of English music of the seventeenth century, and will no doubt be the standard work on Jenkins for some time to come. * LUTE SOCIETY JOURNAL *One could not have a more sure-footed guide. * JOURNAL OF THE VIOLA DA GAMBA SOCIETY *

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Book SynopsisOffers a unique perspective in to what it takes to perform Richard Wagner's operas.Performing Wagner studies each of the iconic Wagnerian heldentenor roles from the unique perspective of the performer. Stephen Gould studied and acted them hundreds of times in scores of productions around the world prior to his passing in 2023. In this thoughtful book, he offers insights to building a character, understanding the dramatic arc of each role, analysing each scene for cogency and dramatic structure, and finding the clues embedded in the music and the words. His intelligence and eloquence offer perspectives that only a performer can experience. The book is unique in opera literature. Neither a memoir nor a musical analysis, Performing Wagner is a practical guide to preparing for, and performing, these roles. Stephen Gould hoped to share his experiences with enthusiasts of Wagner's works, as well as opera audiences more generally who seek to learn what singing actors do in performance. It is invaluable to young artists approaching this repertoire and to scholars studying Wagner's dramaturgy. More broadly, this volume speaks to the condition of every opera fan who has ever been floored by a great performance and wondered, 'how did they do that?'A chapter is devoted to each role, and a foreword is provided by Katharina Wagner, the composer's great-granddaughter and Director of the Wagner Festival in Bayreuth, Germany.

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Book SynopsisThe writings of David Cairns have played a major part in the relatively recent acceptance of Berlioz as a central figure in western classical music. Discovering Berlioz collects articles, lectures and other texts from several decades of advocacy, throwing new light on this outsize personality - the Romantic composer par excellence.For the past half-century and more David Cairns has been one of the world's pre-eminent Berlioz scholars, translating Berlioz's freewheeling memoirs and writing a monumental biography of the composer that earned a procession of awards. But many of Cairns' writings on Berlioz were intended for particular audiences - the Berlioz Society Bulletin, articles in books and journals, contributions to newspapers (he was a critic for The Sunday Times for 25 years) and lectures - and have never been collected between a single set of covers. Discovering Berlioz presents nearly 40 essays from the past five decades that even now throw unexpected light on this most quixotic and profound of composers - firebrand and philosopher almost in the same breath. These articles follow the chronology of Berlioz's life, examining the influences of his provincial childhood on his music, the revelations of Virgil, Gluck, Shakespeare and Beethoven, the tribulations of his professional life in Paris, when the pressure to earn a living as a reviewer and writer robbed him of the time he should have spent on composition, and finally focusing on the masterpiece that crowned Berlioz's difficult life, the operatic epic Les Troyens. Discovering Berlioz also charts the history of Berlioz reception: the composer who in the mid-twentieth century was regarded as aneccentric outsider is now seen as one of the most vital figures in the history of western music - a re-assessment for which David Cairns himself deserves much of the credit.Trade ReviewInterest and diversity are maintained throughout...crammed full of useful, relevant and readable insights. For readers both familiar and unfamiliar with the biographical and musical material that occupy Cairns's first three Berlioz volumes, not to mention complete beginners with this composer, this should be an essential purchase. * GRAMOPHONE *Full of reminiscences, rich in appreciation of the great Berlioz conductors and scholars of the past and present, Cairns's book is a goldmine of analysis and memories. * MUSICAL OPINION *

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Book SynopsisThe Polish-born, British-based pianist André Tchaikowsky (1935-82) saw himself principally as a composer- one of several conflicting elements in his personality, charted by the diaries he kept between 1974 and 1982.André Tchaikowsky was only 46 when he died, internationally renowned as a pianist - and he made the headlines after his death when he left his skull to the Royal Shakespeare Company for use in performances of Hamlet. Yet for all his facility at the keyboard Tchaikowsky's real passion was composition. The internal conflict between pianist and composer compounded an already complex character. A Polish Jew and Holocaust survivor, Tchaikowsky was also a homosexual. The diaries he kept between 1974 and his death chronicle the struggles that ran through his life. Debt kept driving him back to the concert platform when his true wish was to find the time to compose. His spirited writing details the joys and vicissitudes of his life with striking candour. The diaries are introduced and annotated by Anastasia Belina-Johnson, who also provides a chronology of Tchaikowsky's life and a survey of his music. Includes a CDof the pianist in recital.Anastasia Belina-Johnson is Head of Classical Music at the Leeds College of Music.Trade ReviewAn absorbing read and a significant step in Tchaikowsky studies. * MUSIC & LETTERS *A valuable book in rediscovering a vital talent undeservedly overlooked for too long. * CLASSICAL MUSIC *This is a very well-researched 'biography'. The edited diaries [are] especially revealing, and I came away from them feeling I had really got under the skin of this fascinating character ... If [Belina-Johnson's] intentions were to reawaken an interest in this almost forgotten musician, she has truly succeeded. , January 2014 * MUSICWEB INTERNATIONAL, January 2014 *

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Book SynopsisMoira Bennett casts her perceptive, wry and amused eye over a childhood and adolescence in South Africa and her years raising sponsorship for the Aldeburgh Festival, the Barbican Centre and the London Symphony Orchestra.In her early fifties, Moira Bennett was widowed with a school-age son and in need of a job. With virtually no previous working experience but full of energy and determination, she found herself working at the Britten-Pears Schoolat Snape, helping to run masterclasses for young professional musicians studying with artists such as Peter Pears, Galina Vishnevskaya, Mstislav Rostropovich, Hugues Cuénod and William Pleeth. Her gift for arts administration - understanding the needs of performers and audiences - was soon to become highly valued at Aldeburgh, as she became the Registrar at the Britten-Pears School and went on to create the post of Development Director in the early days ofcommercial sponsorship of the arts. She was later invited to take on a similar role at the Barbican Centre, supporting a series of international arts festivals, before going on to work with the London Symphony Orchestra.In 2012 the Bittern Press published Moira Bennett's history of the Britten-Pears School, Making Musicians, which Classical Music magazine made one its Books of the Year. Now in her early nineties, Moira Bennett has written an extraordinary autobiography, casting an astute eye over her childhood and adolescence in South Africa, the impact of the Second World War and the Apartheid years on the country, and her second, 'unexpected', life in the arts.

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Book Synopsis Joe Wilder set the table. His struggles made it easier for me and many others.--From the Foreword by Wynton Marsalis Trumpeter Joe Wilder is distinguished for his achievements in both the jazz and classical worlds. He was a founding member of the Symphony of the New World, where he played first trumpet, and he performed as lead trumpet and soloist with Lionel Hampton, Jimmy Lunceford, Dizzy Gillespie, and Count Basie. Yet Wilder is also known as a pioneer who broke down racial barriers, the first African American to hold a principal chair in a Broadway show orchestra, and one of the first African Americans to join a network studio orchestra. In Softly, with Feeling, Edward Berger tells Wilder''s remarkable story-from his growing up in working-class Philadelphia to becoming one of the first 1,000 black Marines during World War II-with tremendous feeling and extensive reminiscences by Wilder and his colleagues, including renowned PhiladelphTable of ContentsForeword by Wynton Marsalis Preface Acknowledgments 1 The Making of a Musician: Philadelphia (1922–1938) Musical Beginnings Colored Kiddies of the Air: “Little Louis” Meets Pops William T. Tilden Junior High School 2 From Student to Pro (1938–1943) Mastbaum The Harlem Dictators Leaving Home: Les Hite Lionel Hampton 3 Integration of the Armed Forces: The Montford Point Marines (1943–1946) 4 Big Band Odyssey (1946–1950) Hampton Redux Jimmie Lunceford Dizzy Gillespie Lucky Millinder Sam Donahue Herbie Fields 5 New York (1950–1953) Noble Sissle and the Diamond Horseshoe Breaking Barriers on Broadway Wilder on Broadway Manhattan School of Music 6 On the Road Again: Count Basie (1953–1954) 7 Back on Broadway and into the Studios (1954–1957) Silk Stockings and Most Happy Fella The Urban League: Integrating the Music Industry Developing a Style: Recordings in the 1950s From Mainstream to Third Stream 8 On Staff: African American Musicians and the Network Orchestras (1957–1964) Wilder Joins ABC The Studio Life The Urban League: Integrating the Network Orchestras Record Dates: Sideman and Leader “The Sound of Jazz” Benny Goodman: USSR Tour Miss America Pageant Family Life 9 A Dream Realized: Return to Classical Music (1964–1974) African Americans in Symphony Orchestras: The Beginnings of Change The Symphony of the New World The 1969 Human Rights Commission Hearings Earl Madison’s Reflections Other Classical Activities Wilder and Wilder: Joe and Alec 1960s Recordings 10 Freelance (1974–1990) The End of the Staff Orchestras Peter Duchin and the Society Orchestra Phenomenon Return to Broadway 1980s Recordings 11 New Outlets: Jazz Repertory and Jazz Parties (1990–2000) Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra Garrison Keillor and A Prairie Home Companion The Jazz Party Phenomenon 12 Passing It On: Teaching, Awards, and Honors (2000–) Juilliard Awards and Honors The Reluctant Leader Recordings in the New Millennium: Evening Star Arbors Records and the Statesmen of Jazz Coda Notes Discography/Solography Index

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Book SynopsisWith an iconic sound that transcends country, pop, rock, and blues, Rosanne Cash’s voice and vision have captured American life for generations of fans. Over the same time span, internationally acclaimed artist Dan Rizzie has wowed collectors with his evocative paintings, prints, and collages. Now, in a book that is as unique as their artistry, Cash and her longtime friend Rizzie have teamed up to create an extraordinary hybrid. Blending images created by Rizzie with strands of lyrics from a variety of Cash’s songs (including new material from her latest album, She Remembers Everything, as well as her beloved classics), Bird on a Blade is a mosaic designed to inspire the imagination and soothe the heart.Oscillating between periods of growth and times of darkness, Bird on a Blade reflects on life’s mysteries. Powerful lines from songs such as “God Is in the Roses” from the 2006 album Black Cadillac evoke themes of mournTrade ReviewJuxtaposed with tender paintings from artist and friend Dan Rizzie, Cash's lyrics are luminescent nuggets, gleaming with desire, loss, home, and self-empowerment. * Vulture *

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Book SynopsisThis first comprehensive biography of the late, great Michael Bloomfield brings to life a dazzling electric-guitar virtuoso who transformed rock ’n’ roll in the 1960s and made a lasting impact on the blues genre.Trade ReviewEncyclopedic…packed with enough info to make a blues nerd giddy with joy…[a] rich, resonant, detailed account…this book draws you in the way a novel does, one by Dostoyevsky, say, in which the hero is part genius, part stumblebum, a flawed artist making his way half-aware through a world of joys and pitfalls—someone very much like most of us, in other words, if a lot more talented and a little more careless. * Wall Street Journal *This monumental book illuminates the legacy of a musician who has been overshadowed by other Sixties luminaries but who helped bring the vernacular of the blues to rock and whose playing influenced the course of rock and roll. * Library Journal, Starred Review *Thanks to new interviews with associates and animated descriptions of Bloomfield's playing, motor-mouth way of talking and scholarly music knowledge, [Bloomfield's] tug of war between the commercial and the uncompromised makes for an absorbing read. Guitar King isn't the first book on Bloomfield but is most fleshed out, and it also feels like one of the last great untold classic-rock tales, right up through Bloomfield's mysterious passing...Even as the book will make you reach for or stream A Long Time Comin’, Super Session, East-West or even Triumvirate (his overlooked 1973 album with John Hammond and Dr. John, another failed supergroup plan) Guitar King gives you its own version of the blues. * Rolling Stone *Dann makes a persuasive case for how this white kid from Glencoe, Illinois, played a central role in introducing white audiences to urban blues. * Booklist *Bloomfield hated stardom, and what unfolds is the story of a genius ‘relegated to footnote status’ by a self-sabotaging streak Dann lays out in tragic, vivid detail. * Rolling Stone, "Best Music Books of 2019" *[A] monumental examination. * Music Connection *A compelling narrative of a young blues fanatic whose problems with drugs and mental instability predated his fame...Those with a passion for the music will enjoy revisiting a time when Bloomfield's influence exceeded even Stevie Ray Vaughn's. * Kirkus *Bringing Bloomfield's worlds alive, with sections drawn from his meticulous (you can feel this is more than thorough) research…the author deserves a medal for this work. * Blues Matters *Exhaustive and engaging. * Largehearted Boy *Guitar King is voluminous in size—as befits a man whose contribution to modern music is greater than history has ever acknowledged. Drawing from his deep research and numerous interviews, it is clear that Dann put tremendous effort into this book. It is a biography that puts Bloomfield back into his rightful place on the roster of rock and blues greats. The result is a tremendous and magnificent work. * CounterPunch *In this exhaustive, detailed doorstopper of a tome, Dann...explores seemingly every nook and cranny of [Bloomfield's] music…with Guitar King, the spotlight is absolutely on the subject, a wealthy, Jewish kid who just wanted to play the blues. * Houston Press *Breathtaking…Monumental and massive, Guitar King gives its subject a suitably epic feel, even as it moves at a brisk pace through the peaks and valleys of Bloomfield's life. * Chairman Ralph *Readers of Guitar King will be both impressed and frustrated as they read the fascinating tales of Bloomfield's life. The rocker always seemed at the precipice of stardom, but whether it was turning down Bob Dylan or getting deep into the world of drugs, he continually found ways to be his own worst enemy. * Ultimate Classic Rock *[Guitar King] goes beyond previous Bloomfield books to examine his music and turbulent life at a near-molecular level…[Dann] reveals the depths of Bloomfield's musical passions, genius and personal despair…Guitar King establishes his pivotal role in American music history. * Pittsburgh Post-Gazette *This is the definitive book on Michael Bloomfield…Guitar King reads like a novel with stunning points of new information and a great compassion for the vagaries of Bloomfield's life…[Guitar King is] one of the greatest books written about any musician, of any genre. * PolitiChicks *[Dann] adds detail and nuance to our understanding of the life and career of a guitarist who was one of the most respected performers of his generation. * The Current *[Guitar King is] a rich and definitive presentation that will enhance the converted and convert the unfamiliar. * The Oakland Press *A volume that's both extremely detailed and a very enjoyable read from beginning to end…[Guitar King] is worth the considerable investment of time you'll need to digest the whole tome, and a significant addition to blues-rock scholarship. * Folkrocks, "Top Two Dozen Rock Books of 2019" *Bloomfield's emblematic life is tirelessly documented in Guitar King. * Shepherd Express *Holding a reader's interest through hundreds of pages is a daunting task in a work of non-fiction, but Dann keeps the story flowing in a way that steadily helps readers develop a truer sense of Bloomfield the artist, and the person…No matter how much knowledge you may already have about Michael Bloomfield, reading Dann's biography will certainly add multiple layers of understanding about his life and the extent of his influence on the lineage of blues guitar playing...[Guitar King is a] magnificent tribute to a man who undoubtedly was a 'Guitar King,' making this book a highly recommended addition to any musical library! * Blues Blast Magazine *Dann gives accounts of episodes in Bloomfield's life like he was there, even describing Bloom's fill and solos on any given night like a guitar player telling another guitar player all about it. Fans of Bloomfield will find it hard to put the book down and music history buffs will respect the fales involved...Dann's writing puts you there next to Bloomfield as he encounters the legends in his orbit like Dylan, Butterfield and Bloom's competitors like Eric Clapton...and Jimi Hendrix. * Punk Globe *Dann offers close to eight-hundred pages virtually all of which are worth equally careful reading. Even the play-by-plays of studio and stage performances, including the ill-conceived super-group KGB, conjure a palpable sense of suspense…there's a sense of purpose in Dann's writing mirroring that of Bloomfield's and that makes Guitar King hard to put down once the reading starts and delivers a dual sense of melancholy and accomplishment when it's complete...Compelling reading from start to finish...only this prolific artist's music itself could be a more vivid act of advocacy. * All About Jazz *Without doubt, author David Dann has the goods on who could well be the most exciting electric guitarist to come out of all the 60s’ musical machinations. And though the ’70s were pretty much a bust for Bloomfield, the decline and eventual sad demise of this nonpareil bluesman holds so many intriguing what-could-have-beens that for anyone who is super-interested in how the modern musical landscape was born and why it went so far south during the ’70s for such a pivotal original, this is the tome that tells the tale. * Americana Highways *[Dann] restores Bloomfield to the prominence he once enjoyed, careful to avoid hagiography as he documents the musician's rise to glory and swift, heartbreaking (but seemingly inevitable) demise. * MOJO *Essential reading for serious rock and blues fans. * Goldmine Magazine *Michael Bloomfield’s life was a great story waiting to be told, and David Dann has done it considerable justice. His passion for his subject and the depth of his research are extraordinary...Dann has done Michael Bloomfield’s fans a great service with this book...we should be happy that Dann scrutinized this American icon with such insight. * American Book Review *Table of Contents Prologue Part I. Guitar King Chapter 1. Social Misfit Chapter 2. North Shore Hotshot Chapter 3. Folk Fanatic Chapter 4. Marriage, the Pickle, and Big Joe Chapter 5. Old Town Chapter 6. Auditioning for Hammond Chapter 7. Big John’s and the Group Chapter 8. Butterfield Blues Chapter 9. Plugging in at Newport Chapter 10. Electrifying Dylan Part II. His Holy Modal Majesty Chapter 11. On the Road with Butter Chapter 12. East-West Chapter 13. Blues to Britain Chapter 14. Hoisting the Flag Chapter 15. Music, Love, and Flowers Chapter 16. Groovin’ Is Easy Chapter 17. Another Country Chapter 18. Shucks and Sessions Part III. Knockin’ Myself Out Chapter 19. Entertainer No More Chapter 20. Live Adventures Chapter 21. Michael’s Lament Chapter 22. Stoned Leisure Chapter 23. Reed Street Chapter 24. Loving These Blues Chapter 25. Count Talent Chapter 26. Last Call Epilogue: Great Gifts from Heaven Notes Bibliography Additional Resources Recordings Acknowledgments About the Author Index

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Book SynopsisA stirring defense of Sinéad O’Connor’s music and activism, and an indictment of the culture that cancelled her. In 1990, Sinéad O’Connor’s video for “Nothing Compares 2 U” turned her into a superstar. Two years later, an appearance on Saturday Night Live turned her into a scandal. For many people—including, for years, the author—what they knew of O’Connor stopped there. Allyson McCabe believes it’s time to reassess our old judgments about Sinéad O’Connor and to expose the machinery that built her up and knocked her down. Addressing triumph and struggle, sound and story, Why Sinéad O’Connor Matters argues that its subject has been repeatedly manipulated and misunderstood by a culture that is often hostile to women who speak their minds (in O’Connor’s case, by shaving her head, championing rappers, and tearing up a picture of the popTrade ReviewPart biography, part reflection on the meaning of O'Connor's artistry and actions, McCabe traces the achievements and media-generated scandals of O'Connor's career, and how she consistently sought to beat her own path in a culture that condemned women for veering off the course of sanctioned archetypes...What's most powerful is how McCabe draws on her own experience in parallel with O'Connor's. Perhaps this is O'Connor's most powerful asset as an artist: she opens up a space for people to see their struggles, their resistance and their trauma, in hers. * The Irish Times *Absolutely brilliant, heartbreaking, insightful, and personal. -- Margo Price * Literary Hub *Why Sinéad O’Connor Matters reassesses the oft-misunderstood songwriter and activist through a lens that is both historical and personal...Written in clear and provocative language...McCabe’s impassioned defense of O’Connor in the wake of her many controversies is both heartfelt and persuasive...our protagonist emerges from Why Sinéad O’Connor Matters as a conquering hero; having weathered abuse, cruelty, and prejudice, not to mention the usual unreasonable expectations too often placed on female artists, the courageous nonconformist emerges wounded but wiser. Ultimately—and most importantly—she is redeemed. * Aquarium Drunkard *[A] very personal and thought-provoking account of the media’s role in [O'Connor's] stratospheric rise and ultimate implosion…A touching tribute. O’Connor has been the subject of recent and numerous articles, a documentary, and books (including her own), but McCabe’s take is unique in its critical analysis of the media and its attempts to silence and cancel O’Connor. * Library Journal *I've been waiting for a book like McCabe's because...grappling with what happened to O'Connor—at her peak no less—carries important lessons that resonate today. The woman behind that sublime voice was a fierce, complicated, tormented, defiant badass. Yet somehow, she remains an enigma—despite publishing a memoir—because of how quickly and completely she was discarded from the music world for refusing to compromise her beliefs. The industry and world have ostensibly changed, but it's essential to remember and honor those who went before us. * Tertulia *A revealing reappraisal…McCabe skillfully renders the artist’s rise and ahead-of-her-time activism against the sociopolitical landscape of the 1980s and ’90s, persuasively rescuing O’Connor’s reputation from a mainstream media narrative that ‘all too often dismissed [her] as a slow-motion train wreck.’ Fans will be riveted. * Publishers Weekly *A superb showcase of the artist as a musician and a person, [Why Sinéad O'Connor Matters] seeks to discern her persistent drive to make music despite the obstacles in her path and what we can learn from such an unorthodox creative spirit...The heart of this immaculate work lies in how McCabe deftly navigates the turbulent intersection of criticism and compassion. When McCabe talks transparently about her own childhood traumas and how they often mirrored O’Connor’s, her candor is both refreshing and admirable...This book sets a new standard in music criticism. * Treble *[Why Sinéad O'Connor Matters] is about much more than Sinéad O’Connor. The singer becomes a 'window and a mirror into culture,' as McCabe puts it, expanding far beyond SNL, MTV, Bob Dylan, Prince, or any of the well-trod touchstones of O’Connor’s early career. Instead, the story reaches deeper — more about the refractions and the shadows that O’Connor casts on ourselves and on the culture. It asks the reader to consider their own relationship to the forces that once leveraged themselves en masse against O’Connor. It’s a beautiful and compassionate meditation on silence, trauma, healing, and much more. * KCRW *[Sinéad's] urges to "fight the real enemy" have been disregarded, mocked, and vilified for over 30 years – but McCabe's reexamination of O'Connor's treatment is both a tough lesson and a promising step forward. -- Laiken Neumann * Austin Chronicle *Shifting the focus back to music is key to Allyson McCabe’s Why Sinéad O’Connor Matters, published just two months before O’Connor’s death . . . The clarity with which McCabe tells these stories can make space for a more balanced assessment of Sinéad O’Connor’s music. * Spectrum Culture *Released just two months prior to O’Connor’s death, this intimate and moving release from author Allyson McCabe reiterates the lasting impact she left behind. If you’re looking for creative context and thoughtful criticism of the media’s role in O’Connor’s personal and creative well-being, Why Sinéad O’Connor Matters is an essential read. * American Songwriter *Reevaluations of maligned "loud women" are always welcome here, but this dissection of Sinéad O'Connor's artistry, activism, and unfounded industry ostracism hits even harder following the artist's tragic July passing. -- Carys Anderson * Austin Chronicle *When people ask why I enjoy reading music criticism, I tell them the books shine a light upon our collective human psyche. Why Sinead O’Connor Matters by Alyson McCabe does exactly that . . . The heart of this immaculate work lies in the intersection of criticism and compassion crafted by McCabe. * Ancillary Review of Books *Table of Contents Prologue Framing Take 1 The Lion and the Cobra As Seen on MTV Rock-’n’-Roll Cassandra SPINning Sinéad She’ll Talk but You Won’t Listen The Takedown Is She Not Your Girl? This Means War We Do Not Want What She Has Got Wrecking Ball Things Need to Change We Need to Talk about Prince Hurt People Hurt Truthful Witness Acknowledgments Notes

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Book SynopsisAn examination of director Todd Haynes and his Bob Dylan biopic. As the first and only Bob Dylan “biopic,” I’m Not There caused a stir when released in 2007. Offering a surreal retelling of moments from Dylan’s life and career, the film is perhaps best known for its distinctive approach to casting, including Cate Blanchett and Marcus Carl Franklin, a Black child actor, as versions of Dylan though none of the characters bear his name. Greenlit by Bob Dylan himself, the film uses Dylan’s music as a score, a triumph for famed queer filmmaker Todd Haynes after encountering issues with copyright in previous projects. Noah Tsika eloquently characterizes all the ways that Dylan and Haynes harmonize in their methods and sensibilities, interpreting the rule-breaking film as a biography that refuses chronology, disdains factual accuracy, flirts with libel, and cannibalizes Western cinema. Fitting the film’s inspiration, creTrade ReviewIn I’m Not There (21st Century Film Essentials), Noah Tsika analyzes Haynes’ audacious 2007 Bob Dylan (sort of) biopic, which the author believes 'is perhaps the least studied' of the director’s films. The text establishes, however, that the film is more than worthy of deep consideration. Tsika even details how the film connects with Haynes’ career-long battles with trademark and copyright issues. All told, this is a truly essential study of a film that seems even bolder now than it did in 2007. * The Film Stage *Table of Contents Prologue: Flaming Quotations Introduction: 21st-Century Bedfellows Pursuing Opacity Violators Won’t Be Cited Mock the Documentary Playing On Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisAn examination of director Todd Haynes and his Bob Dylan biopic.Trade ReviewIn I’m Not There (21st Century Film Essentials), Noah Tsika analyzes Haynes’ audacious 2007 Bob Dylan (sort of) biopic, which the author believes 'is perhaps the least studied' of the director’s films. The text establishes, however, that the film is more than worthy of deep consideration. Tsika even details how the film connects with Haynes’ career-long battles with trademark and copyright issues. All told, this is a truly essential study of a film that seems even bolder now than it did in 2007. * The Film Stage *Table of Contents Prologue: Flaming Quotations Introduction: 21st-Century Bedfellows Pursuing Opacity Violators Won’t Be Cited Mock the Documentary Playing On Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisBenjamin Piekut tells the story of the English experimental rock band Henry Cow and how it linked its improvisational musical aesthetic with a collectivist, progressive politics.Trade Review“What was it all about, to me? Thinking. Henry Cow really thought about the why, the what, the appropriate methods of making music. Their riveting music was the sound of thinking out loud: Henry Cow seemed to be asking, ‘So, what is the significance of these sounds in our heads?’ And they were always witty: just look at the name of the band and the unwearable sock representing ‘the Henry Cow legend.’ I am very glad this book exists. Henry Cow’s history—in all its inevitable turbulence—tells an inspiring story.” -- Robert Wyatt“In this landmark monograph, Benjamin Piekut offers a stunning new theoretical framework for writing the history of ‘adventurous’ music in the late twentieth century, realizing that theory in practice by replicating in his graceful prose the improvised relation to the world he seeks to illuminate. Through his gripping account of the band Henry Cow, he reconstructs the cultural space of what he calls the ‘vernacular avant-garde,’ where musicians learn from records rather than in institutions, live uncertainty, cross genres, improvise responses to novel situations, work with and against record companies, and embrace avant-gardism without negation. It is rare to finish a monumental monograph with a gasp. A must-read intervention and instant classic!” -- Tamara Levitz, Professor of Musicology and Comparative Literature, University of California Los Angeles"Henry Cow: The World Is A Problem provides an exhaustive account of an incomparable group pushing music to its limits, on a linear mission to change civilization and its culture forever." * Jazzwise *"A fascinating and pacey read, stitched together painstakingly from over 90 original interviews and both public and private texts including Hodgkinson's extensive diaries. The combination of narrative background, musical analysis and critical insight should open the door for a new generation of listeners." -- Phil England * The Wire *"Exhaustive and illuminating." -- Kurt Gottschalk * New York City Jazz Record *"Mixing a highly readable musicological analysis with fascinating details about the band's often-turbulent existence, Piekut's book is a fitting tribute to Henry Cow's importance and legacy in a notable but marginalised movement of 20th century music." -- Sid Smith * Prog Magazine *"This biography is many things but its main strength is as a chronicle of the band’s extraordinary history which spanned barely a decade, meticulously researched from a vast array of sources, not just from the music papers of the times but via interviews with the musicians, plus access to private musicians’ notes, diaries and minutes from the band’s many documented meetings. . . . A remarkable project: compelling, unique and requiring considerable powers of concentration and assiduousness—somewhat like the band themselves." -- Phil Howitt * Facelift *"It's hard to think of another group that did as much as Henry Cow to distance themselves from the usual Dionysian image and activities of your typical rock band. . . . All things considered, it doesn't sound like it was much fun at all. But this book is." -- Daniel Spicer * Jazzwise *"Why would this book appeal to anyone had never heard of Henry Cow? Well, I think that anyone that is interested in the development of British underground or counter-cultural music through the late sixties and seventies will find this book fascinating. As will anyone that is interested in the working out of a musical response to prevailing sociopolitical circumstances. And, as much as anything, it provides universal insights into a group of people and managing complex relationships where, at times, it seems that what would help most would be a psychological understanding of intergroup processes." -- Phil Stringer * Free Jazz Collective *"Piekut engages in continuous reflection as he narrates. In this sense, the book is also a sort of ethnography, with Henry Cow as an object of study serving to elucidate a range of matters both historical (music and art as cultural practices) and theoretical (larger issues of politics, musicology, and sociality). The research is impeccably thorough—not just by measure of the requisite bibliography but also the extensive, rigorous interviews with the people involved in the Henry Cow project. This original research on its own is a real treasure." -- Stathis Gourgouris * Los Angeles Review of Books *"Piekut's richly nuanced account of [Henry Cow] is, as far as I am aware, an unprecedently detailed case study of the life of a rock group" -- Chris Atton * Popular Music *"Piekut's book is one of the best dissections of a group I have ever read. It is lengthy, well-written, explores the musical and social milieu in depth, and is an excellent primer for listening to the music. Just don't do it at the same time. Each process: reading about and listening to Henry Cow deserve your full undivided attention." -- Robert Iannapollo * Association for Recorded Sound Collection *Table of ContentsPreface vii Acknowledgments xi Introduction. Feral Experimentalism 1 1. You Can't Play This Music at Cambridge | 1968–73 29 2. Faust and the Virgins | 1973 76 3. Contentment Is Hopeless, Unrest Is Progress | 1974 119 4. Death to the Individual: Slapp Happy | 1974–75 157 5. Europa | 1975–76 199 6. The Roads Leading to Rome | 1976–77 242 7. No Joy Anymore | London 1977 293 8. Henry Cow Always Had to Be Henry Cow | 1978 345 Afterword. The Vernacular Avant-Garde 387 Notes 409 Bibliography 455 Index 479

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Book SynopsisBenjamin Piekut tells the story of the English experimental rock band Henry Cow and how it linked its improvisational musical aesthetic with a collectivist, progressive politics.Trade Review“What was it all about, to me? Thinking. Henry Cow really thought about the why, the what, the appropriate methods of making music. Their riveting music was the sound of thinking out loud: Henry Cow seemed to be asking, ‘So, what is the significance of these sounds in our heads?’ And they were always witty: just look at the name of the band and the unwearable sock representing ‘the Henry Cow legend.’ I am very glad this book exists. Henry Cow’s history—in all its inevitable turbulence—tells an inspiring story.” -- Robert Wyatt“In this landmark monograph, Benjamin Piekut offers a stunning new theoretical framework for writing the history of ‘adventurous’ music in the late twentieth century, realizing that theory in practice by replicating in his graceful prose the improvised relation to the world he seeks to illuminate. Through his gripping account of the band Henry Cow, he reconstructs the cultural space of what he calls the ‘vernacular avant-garde,’ where musicians learn from records rather than in institutions, live uncertainty, cross genres, improvise responses to novel situations, work with and against record companies, and embrace avant-gardism without negation. It is rare to finish a monumental monograph with a gasp. A must-read intervention and instant classic!” -- Tamara Levitz, Professor of Musicology and Comparative Literature, University of California Los Angeles"Henry Cow: The World Is A Problem provides an exhaustive account of an incomparable group pushing music to its limits, on a linear mission to change civilization and its culture forever." * Jazzwise *"A fascinating and pacey read, stitched together painstakingly from over 90 original interviews and both public and private texts including Hodgkinson's extensive diaries. The combination of narrative background, musical analysis and critical insight should open the door for a new generation of listeners." -- Phil England * The Wire *"Exhaustive and illuminating." -- Kurt Gottschalk * New York City Jazz Record *"Mixing a highly readable musicological analysis with fascinating details about the band's often-turbulent existence, Piekut's book is a fitting tribute to Henry Cow's importance and legacy in a notable but marginalised movement of 20th century music." -- Sid Smith * Prog Magazine *"This biography is many things but its main strength is as a chronicle of the band’s extraordinary history which spanned barely a decade, meticulously researched from a vast array of sources, not just from the music papers of the times but via interviews with the musicians, plus access to private musicians’ notes, diaries and minutes from the band’s many documented meetings. . . . A remarkable project: compelling, unique and requiring considerable powers of concentration and assiduousness—somewhat like the band themselves." -- Phil Howitt * Facelift *"It's hard to think of another group that did as much as Henry Cow to distance themselves from the usual Dionysian image and activities of your typical rock band. . . . All things considered, it doesn't sound like it was much fun at all. But this book is." -- Daniel Spicer * Jazzwise *"Why would this book appeal to anyone had never heard of Henry Cow? Well, I think that anyone that is interested in the development of British underground or counter-cultural music through the late sixties and seventies will find this book fascinating. As will anyone that is interested in the working out of a musical response to prevailing sociopolitical circumstances. And, as much as anything, it provides universal insights into a group of people and managing complex relationships where, at times, it seems that what would help most would be a psychological understanding of intergroup processes." -- Phil Stringer * Free Jazz Collective *"Piekut engages in continuous reflection as he narrates. In this sense, the book is also a sort of ethnography, with Henry Cow as an object of study serving to elucidate a range of matters both historical (music and art as cultural practices) and theoretical (larger issues of politics, musicology, and sociality). The research is impeccably thorough—not just by measure of the requisite bibliography but also the extensive, rigorous interviews with the people involved in the Henry Cow project. This original research on its own is a real treasure." -- Stathis Gourgouris * Los Angeles Review of Books *"Piekut's richly nuanced account of [Henry Cow] is, as far as I am aware, an unprecedently detailed case study of the life of a rock group" -- Chris Atton * Popular Music *"Piekut's book is one of the best dissections of a group I have ever read. It is lengthy, well-written, explores the musical and social milieu in depth, and is an excellent primer for listening to the music. Just don't do it at the same time. Each process: reading about and listening to Henry Cow deserve your full undivided attention." -- Robert Iannapollo * Association for Recorded Sound Collection *Table of ContentsPreface vii Acknowledgments xi Introduction. Feral Experimentalism 1 1. You Can't Play This Music at Cambridge | 1968–73 29 2. Faust and the Virgins | 1973 76 3. Contentment Is Hopeless, Unrest Is Progress | 1974 119 4. Death to the Individual: Slapp Happy | 1974–75 157 5. Europa | 1975–76 199 6. The Roads Leading to Rome | 1976–77 242 7. No Joy Anymore | London 1977 293 8. Henry Cow Always Had to Be Henry Cow | 1978 345 Afterword. The Vernacular Avant-Garde 387 Notes 409 Bibliography 455 Index 479

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Book SynopsisShana L. Redmond traces Paul Robeson’s continuing cultural resonances in popular culture and politics, showing how he remains a vital force and presence for all those he inspired.Trade Review“Formally challenging and beautifully conceived, Everything Man is a model for scholarship and thinking as well as a powerful addition to the body of work on Paul Robeson, freedom movements, sound studies, music, and beyond. It will make a tremendous impact.” -- Christina Sharpe, author of * In the Wake *"Shana Redmond’s ingenious reframing of Paul Robeson as Afrofuturist media artist is but one quality marking Everything Man as a milestone contribution to Robeson scholarship. Redmond compels readers to reconsider Robeson as a radical modernist—one whose innovative embrace of electronic media technology (film, sound recording, telegraph) transforms our understanding of him from remote Black Communist icon to protean, creative contemporary. In lucid and evocative prose Redmond narrates how Robeson democratized sonic and visual modernity while engaged in anticapitalist justice work. Redmond illuminates the afterlife of Robeson’s voice and presence too—his appearances in postmodern art practices and the many places Robeson’s footpaths took Redmond where she discovered he was still revered by the far-flung descendants of the man's midcentury comrades and congregants.” -- Greg Tate, author of * Flyboy 2 *"[A] deeply innovative exploration of the cultural resonances of the titanic – yet often now overlooked African American song interpreter, actor, athlete and Freedom Fighter Paul Robeson. . . . Redmond returns Robeson to his rightful place at the center of the American conversation." -- Ann Powers * NPR's Best Books of 2020 *"Charting Robeson’s life through his sonic abilities, Redmond crafts a rare and inspired work, a worthy academic text that demonstrates both the emblematic power of individuals and their ability to foment widespread resistance to oppressors." -- J. Neal * Choice *"It is known that Robeson was a great man and defender of those who could not defend himself. His legacy is further cemented through this book which breathes new life into this artist’s impacted and historical life." -- Jordannah Elizabeth * New York Amsterdam News *Table of ContentsElement: A Preface xi Acknowledgments xix Vibration. An Introduction 1 1. Hologram 14 2. Play 39 3. Installation 72 4. Environment 102 Frequency. A Continuation . . . 130 Notes 141 Bibliography 161 Index 173

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Book SynopsisJazz critic and historian Cisco Bradley tells the story of the life and music of bassist and composer William Parker, who for fifty years has been a monumental figure in free jazz.Trade Review“Writing elegantly about the music as well as William Parker's work as an activist and organizer, Cisco Bradley gives a full sense of Parker's centrality to the development and maintenance of the free jazz scene in New York as well as his efforts in presenting the music across the globe. Universal Tonality is a book worthy of its object.” -- Fred Moten, author of * Black and Blur *“We have precious few monographic works on creative musicians, fewer still on living ones, and none quite like Cisco Bradley's fascinating biography of bassist, bandleader, organizer, and composer William Parker. Bradley situates Parker as part of a historical legacy, skillfully illuminating Parker's career—including his crucial term with Cecil Taylor—as well as the entire underground scene, including the groundbreaking Sound Unity Festival, the enduring Vision Festival, and manifold developments in the New York creative music community. An essential entry in the critical culture reading list.” -- John Corbett, author of * Vinyl Freak: Love Letters to a Dying Medium *"Each of [Parker's] own major projects, including the quartet, Raining On The Moon, Little Huey, and In Order To Survive, is discussed and analyzed in depth; his family history and personal life are documented in detail; and ultimately as full a portrait as possible of William Parker, artist and human being, is painted. Essential reading." -- Phil Freeman * Stereogum *"Cisco Bradley endeavors to pull the diverse parts of the artist's life together in this first ever biography of Parker. It is a monumental task, and like the dozens of biographies of Louis Armstrong that have been published, it is a good start." -- Mark Corroto * All About Jazz *"This is long overdue respect and praise for one of the finest and hardest working musicians of the post-war era. William Parker is a national treasure, as this book is a testament to his perseverance." -- Tim Niland * Music and More *"Bradley's work, currently only in English, really deserves to be translated into multiple languages." (translated from Italian) -- Giuseppe Segala * All About Jazz *"As with the best of jazz biographies, there are excellent descriptions of the music to be found on the key albums of Parker’s various groups. And these vivid words send the curious listener scurrying off to hear the music. . . . The biography is an excellent introduction to William Parker’s music and to his role in the free jazz community in New York and the USA." -- Tony Dudley-Evans * London Jazz News *"A timely and dynamic picture of the great artist’s travels, to date. Bradley’s book charts a past that also provides many clues and contextual narratives that tell us much about where Parker may be heading." -- Lee Rice Epstein * Free Jazz Collective *"Parker’s art and family history get explored at length in Cisco Bradley’s illuminating new critical study Universal Tonality, the first William Parker book that William Parker didn’t have to write himself. Parker appreciates the attention—he called it the story of how he rose 'from rags to enlightenment. Note that I didn’t say riches'—but still encourages musicians to tell their own stories, and not just because critics can be slow to catch up." -- Alan Scherstuhl * New York Times *"Excellent and overdue. . . ." -- Angus Batey * The Quietus *"The book, while essentially a biography, explains aspects of his musical vision that are exemplified by these recordings. There is an emphasis on vocals and lyrics, and the book goes in some depth with regard to Parker’s interest in poetry and literature, and his love of music from other cultures as well. . . . An important takeaway from Universal Tonality is Parker’s belief that music is in and of itself a revolutionary act, a rebellion against the hatred which he sees as inherent in the current organization of the world." -- Todd Manning * Rock and Roll Globe *"Cisco Bradley's insightful, detailed and beautifully illustrated biography is a labour of love. . . . Universal Tonality made me realise that, much as I've always loved his music, I hadn't begun to appreciate William Parker's achievement." -- Andy Hamilton * The Wire *"Bradley's book is a full-on biography, both personal and musical, that never gets lost in academic jargon. . . . The book succeeds in its sheer storytelling of a life, through interviews with Parker and his fellow musicians, who consistently connect Parker's music to his life and to the politics of community. One comes away from Bradley's book quite humbled by a journey that seems never to have compromised on creativity or its possibility to bring more justice to the world. The musician that emerges from Universal Tonality is also a poet and a political activist- or maybe it's clearer to say that we come to see Parker as having erased the lines separating those different roles." -- Will Layman * Popmatters *"An instant classic of jazz biography, Universal Tonality is a genuinely inspirational read, testament to the transformative power of art." -- Stewart Smith * Tribune *"If an antidote to apathy consists of work and proselytizing, then bassist/composer/bandleader, activist and organizer William Parker embodies that antidote. Cisco Bradley has achieved much in simply documenting the extent of his subject’s activities, but he also highlights the spiritual and social dimensions of Parker’s work, all of which is set within music at the free / demanding end of the spectrum, as opposed to the aural balm that jazz in the 21st century often seems to be." -- Nic Jones * Jazz Journal *"With sources that include Parker himself, poetry and excerpts from his journals, and insights from friends and peers, Cisco Bradley explains how the artist has maintained his focus. In the process, he discusses free/avant-garde jazz perceptively, helping to clear away hyperbole and misunderstanding." -- Mike Shanley * Jazz Times *"The publication of Universal Tonality . . . is both long overdue and richly appreciated. . . . Anyone interested in the state of the free improvising scene needs to read this book." -- Robert Bush * New York City Jazz Record *"Parker is one of the foremost practitioners of what is arguably the greatest Black-led American artistic tradition, i.e. jazz, and Universal Tonality casts him in the full light his work deserves." -- Patrick James Dunagan * Rain Taxi *"This meticulously researched, affectionate biography analyzes Parker’s impact as a musician, a composer, and a political revolutionary. An important work that will appeal to jazz historians, scholars of Black history, and music lovers." -- Lisa Henry * Library Journal *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction. "Flowers Grow in My Room": Realizing a Vision 1 I. Origins 1. Enslavement and Resistance: From West Africa to the Carolinas to Harlem 15 2. Struggle, Beauty, and Survival: Childhood in the South Bronx 41 3. Consciousness: Art, Politics, and Self in the Mind of a Young Man 61 II. Early Work 4. The Loft Scene: Art, Community, and Self-Determination 93 5. "Music That Will Give People Hope": Centering Dance Music with Patricia Nicholson 124 6. "Music Is Supposed to Change People": Working with Cecil Taylor 148 III. Toward the Universal 7. "It Is the Job of the Artist to Incite Political Revolution": In Order to Survive 173 8. Into the Tone World: Little Huey Creative Music Orchestra 194 9. Toward a Universal Sound: William Parker Quartet and Raining on the Moon 216 10. Honoring the Elders: Tribute Projects and Other Bands 239 11. All People Need Truth to Survive: Recent Work and Legacy 261 Appendix: William Parker Discography 279 Notes 291 Bibliography 359 Index 385

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Book SynopsisJazz critic and historian Cisco Bradley tells the story of the life and music of bassist and composer William Parker, who for fifty years has been a monumental figure in free jazz.Trade Review“Writing elegantly about the music as well as William Parker's work as an activist and organizer, Cisco Bradley gives a full sense of Parker's centrality to the development and maintenance of the free jazz scene in New York as well as his efforts in presenting the music across the globe. Universal Tonality is a book worthy of its object.” -- Fred Moten, author of * Black and Blur *“We have precious few monographic works on creative musicians, fewer still on living ones, and none quite like Cisco Bradley's fascinating biography of bassist, bandleader, organizer, and composer William Parker. Bradley situates Parker as part of a historical legacy, skillfully illuminating Parker's career—including his crucial term with Cecil Taylor—as well as the entire underground scene, including the groundbreaking Sound Unity Festival, the enduring Vision Festival, and manifold developments in the New York creative music community. An essential entry in the critical culture reading list.” -- John Corbett, author of * Vinyl Freak: Love Letters to a Dying Medium *"Each of [Parker's] own major projects, including the quartet, Raining On The Moon, Little Huey, and In Order To Survive, is discussed and analyzed in depth; his family history and personal life are documented in detail; and ultimately as full a portrait as possible of William Parker, artist and human being, is painted. Essential reading." -- Phil Freeman * Stereogum *"Cisco Bradley endeavors to pull the diverse parts of the artist's life together in this first ever biography of Parker. It is a monumental task, and like the dozens of biographies of Louis Armstrong that have been published, it is a good start." -- Mark Corroto * All About Jazz *"This is long overdue respect and praise for one of the finest and hardest working musicians of the post-war era. William Parker is a national treasure, as this book is a testament to his perseverance." -- Tim Niland * Music and More *"Bradley's work, currently only in English, really deserves to be translated into multiple languages." (translated from Italian) -- Giuseppe Segala * All About Jazz *"As with the best of jazz biographies, there are excellent descriptions of the music to be found on the key albums of Parker’s various groups. And these vivid words send the curious listener scurrying off to hear the music. . . . The biography is an excellent introduction to William Parker’s music and to his role in the free jazz community in New York and the USA." -- Tony Dudley-Evans * London Jazz News *"A timely and dynamic picture of the great artist’s travels, to date. Bradley’s book charts a past that also provides many clues and contextual narratives that tell us much about where Parker may be heading." -- Lee Rice Epstein * Free Jazz Collective *"Parker’s art and family history get explored at length in Cisco Bradley’s illuminating new critical study Universal Tonality, the first William Parker book that William Parker didn’t have to write himself. Parker appreciates the attention—he called it the story of how he rose 'from rags to enlightenment. Note that I didn’t say riches'—but still encourages musicians to tell their own stories, and not just because critics can be slow to catch up." -- Alan Scherstuhl * New York Times *"Excellent and overdue. . . ." -- Angus Batey * The Quietus *"The book, while essentially a biography, explains aspects of his musical vision that are exemplified by these recordings. There is an emphasis on vocals and lyrics, and the book goes in some depth with regard to Parker’s interest in poetry and literature, and his love of music from other cultures as well. . . . An important takeaway from Universal Tonality is Parker’s belief that music is in and of itself a revolutionary act, a rebellion against the hatred which he sees as inherent in the current organization of the world." -- Todd Manning * Rock and Roll Globe *"Cisco Bradley's insightful, detailed and beautifully illustrated biography is a labour of love. . . . Universal Tonality made me realise that, much as I've always loved his music, I hadn't begun to appreciate William Parker's achievement." -- Andy Hamilton * The Wire *"Bradley's book is a full-on biography, both personal and musical, that never gets lost in academic jargon. . . . The book succeeds in its sheer storytelling of a life, through interviews with Parker and his fellow musicians, who consistently connect Parker's music to his life and to the politics of community. One comes away from Bradley's book quite humbled by a journey that seems never to have compromised on creativity or its possibility to bring more justice to the world. The musician that emerges from Universal Tonality is also a poet and a political activist- or maybe it's clearer to say that we come to see Parker as having erased the lines separating those different roles." -- Will Layman * Popmatters *"An instant classic of jazz biography, Universal Tonality is a genuinely inspirational read, testament to the transformative power of art." -- Stewart Smith * Tribune *"If an antidote to apathy consists of work and proselytizing, then bassist/composer/bandleader, activist and organizer William Parker embodies that antidote. Cisco Bradley has achieved much in simply documenting the extent of his subject’s activities, but he also highlights the spiritual and social dimensions of Parker’s work, all of which is set within music at the free / demanding end of the spectrum, as opposed to the aural balm that jazz in the 21st century often seems to be." -- Nic Jones * Jazz Journal *"With sources that include Parker himself, poetry and excerpts from his journals, and insights from friends and peers, Cisco Bradley explains how the artist has maintained his focus. In the process, he discusses free/avant-garde jazz perceptively, helping to clear away hyperbole and misunderstanding." -- Mike Shanley * Jazz Times *"The publication of Universal Tonality . . . is both long overdue and richly appreciated. . . . Anyone interested in the state of the free improvising scene needs to read this book." -- Robert Bush * New York City Jazz Record *"Parker is one of the foremost practitioners of what is arguably the greatest Black-led American artistic tradition, i.e. jazz, and Universal Tonality casts him in the full light his work deserves." -- Patrick James Dunagan * Rain Taxi *"This meticulously researched, affectionate biography analyzes Parker’s impact as a musician, a composer, and a political revolutionary. An important work that will appeal to jazz historians, scholars of Black history, and music lovers." -- Lisa Henry * Library Journal *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction. "Flowers Grow in My Room": Realizing a Vision 1 I. Origins 1. Enslavement and Resistance: From West Africa to the Carolinas to Harlem 15 2. Struggle, Beauty, and Survival: Childhood in the South Bronx 41 3. Consciousness: Art, Politics, and Self in the Mind of a Young Man 61 II. Early Work 4. The Loft Scene: Art, Community, and Self-Determination 93 5. "Music That Will Give People Hope": Centering Dance Music with Patricia Nicholson 124 6. "Music Is Supposed to Change People": Working with Cecil Taylor 148 III. Toward the Universal 7. "It Is the Job of the Artist to Incite Political Revolution": In Order to Survive 173 8. Into the Tone World: Little Huey Creative Music Orchestra 194 9. Toward a Universal Sound: William Parker Quartet and Raining on the Moon 216 10. Honoring the Elders: Tribute Projects and Other Bands 239 11. All People Need Truth to Survive: Recent Work and Legacy 261 Appendix: William Parker Discography 279 Notes 291 Bibliography 359 Index 385

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Book SynopsisWhile undergoing routine surgery to remove a benign tumor, Ruby Elzy died. She was only thirty-five. Had she lived, she would have been one of the first black artists to appear in grand opera.Although now in the shadows, she was a shining star in her day. She entertained Eleanor Roosevelt in the White House. She was Paul Robeson''s leading lady in the movie version of The Emperor Jones. She co-starred in Birth of the Blues opposite Bing Crosby and Mary Martin. She sang at Harlem''s Apollo Theater and in the Hollywood Bowl. Her remarkable soprano voice was known to millions over the radio. She was personally chosen by George Gershwin to create one of the leading roles in his masterpiece, that of Serena in the original production of Porgy and Bess. Her signature song was the vocally demanding My Man''s Gone Now.From obscurity she had risen to great heights. Ruby Pearl Elzy (1908-1943) was born in abject poverty in Pontotoc, Mississippi. Her father abandoned the family when she was five,

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Book SynopsisThroughout his life, Louis Armstrong tried to explain how singing with a barbershop quartet on the streets of New Orleans was foundational to his musicianship. Creating the Jazz Solo shows that Armstrong understood exactly the relationship between what he sang and what he played, and that he he was singing through his horn.

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Book SynopsisThroughout his life, Louis Armstrong tried to explain how singing with a barbershop quartet on the streets of New Orleans was foundational to his musicianship. Creating the Jazz Solo shows that Armstrong understood exactly the relationship between what he sang and what he played, and that he he was singing through his horn.

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Book SynopsisNew Orleans is a Mecca for jazz pilgrims. This memoir tells the story of one aspiring pilgrim, Clive Wilson, who fell in love with New Orleans jazz in his early teens while in boarding school in England. It is also his story of becoming disenchanted with his family and English environment and finding acceptance and a new home in New Orleans.

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Book SynopsisBorn in 1893, Emmanuel Taylor Gordon (1893-1971) became an internationally famous singer in the 1920s at the height of the Harlem Renaissance. Despite his fame, Taylor Gordon has been all but forgotten. Michael Johnson illuminates Gordon's personal history and his cultural importance to the legacy of the Harlem Renaissance.

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Book SynopsisExamines Bill Hanley's echoing impact on the entire field of sound engineering, that crucial but often-overlooked carrier wave of contemporary music. Hanley's innovations founded the sound reinforcement industry and launched a new area of technology, rich with clarity and intelligibility.

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Book SynopsisA collaboration between Kyle DeCoste and more than a dozen members of the Stooges Brass Band, past and present. Told with humor and candour, this book is as much a personal account of the Stooges' careers as it is a story of New Orleans' musicians and a coming-of-age tale about black men in the United States at the turn of the twenty-first century.

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