BOOK REviewS
This section includes reviews of books on jazz subjects by a number of writers. Reviewers interested in contributing are welcome to contact the editor by filling out the form in the CONTACT tab. When contributing please include the title of the book and its author, the name of the publisher, the date of publication, the book’s ISBN number, and the number of pages in the book. Please also provide, if possible, a high resolution scan of the book’s cover. Readers can click on the INDEX button for a list of reviews in this folder.
COLE PORTER: A BIOGRAPHY
by Charles Schwartz
Reviewed by Eric Myers
Encore magazine, December, 1978
Cole Porter was born June 9, 1891 in Peru, Indiana, a small town in the American mid-west. His mother, being the only daughter of a self-made millionaire, J O Cole, was well provided for, and she shamelessly spoilt her only child: as a small boy, he was raised as one of a comfortable elite, had his own shetland pony, a private tutor for French lessons, drawing classes and music instruction, while contact sports and physical activity were frowned upon. Given a close relationship with an adoring mother, and a weak ineffective father to whom he could not relate, it was not altogether surprising that he became homosexual in later life…
CONJURER: POEMS
by Allan Browne
Reviewed by Paul Cliff
The Australian (date unknown)
Conjurer is a collection from 67-year-old Melbourne jazz personality Allan Browne. It plays very well. About 40 of the 70 poems (written across 40 years) are substantively about jazz, and for some of these contextual knowledge is necessary for full appreciation. Or you can check the helpful explanatory notes. The Conjuror project was conceived as a dual poetry collection and jazz performance CD, the latter featuring Browne's sextet playing pieces framed by seven of his poems. The poems on the 68-minute CD, delivered in Browne's dark, gritty, laconic Australian voice, are mainly read upfront, as lead-ins to the music…
ON THE EDGE: JAZZ PLAYERS TALK ABOUT IMPROVISATION
by Bill Bottomley
Reviewed by Ted Nettelbeck
January 16, 2021
This delightful, very short book sets out to try to understand what a jazz musician experiences when engaged in the processes of improvisation. The Contents are organised under the headings of Intro, Main Theme, and Coda. The Intro provides an informative definition for improvisation, including jazz soloing but, as Bill Bottomley emphasises, available definitions do not attempt to capture the communicative aspects of improvisation. He uses the metaphor of spoken (as opposed to written) language to draw attention to the truth that the best jazz musicians are able through their music to communicate at some level with an audience, including of course other musicians with whom they are playing…