Voices of the Jazz Age: Profiles of Eight Vintage Jazzmen (Bayou Jazz Lives S.) Hardcover – 1 January 1995

I love reading any books about vintage jazz and this book includes chapters of several neglected musicians of the 20's such as Sam Wooding, Joe Turto, Benny Waters and Jimmy McPartland. This book is largely a collection of interviews although the one dedicated to Bix Beiderbecke obviously derives from alot of seondary sources such as Ralph Berton's account of growing up with this musician. Whilst I have read better books about this period, this was almost impossible to put down and I polished it up pretty quickly. The chapter about the amusing Bud Freeman was the most surprising (he wanted to study with Lennie Tristano!) but all the subjects are fascinating in their own way. If you enjoy the jazz of this era, it is certain that you will find much in the book to enjoy too. Suffice to say, there isn't a dull page in this publication.