Ranging from stage fright to stardom, racism to the importance of a good nickname, these stories offer fresh and often hilarious insights into the joys and woes of a jazz musician's life. Topping the bill are such giants of jazz as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker and Eddie Condon, who seemed to have lived his entire life with the anecdotist in mind. The book is intended for jazz enthusiasts and a wider audience fascinated by colourful characters and the unusual and unique world that jazz inhabits.