Living the Jazz Life by W Royal Stokes
No music is as individual as jazz. And no writer is as deft at bringing out what is individual in each artist as W. Royal Stokes. As a reviewer, feature writer, public radio host, and author of three books on the subject, Stokes has spent three decades covering the jazz scene. Now he draws on that rich store of knowledge and friendship to introduce us to the jazz life. Stokes illuminates the lives of the artists and the sheer pleasure of the sounds they create. In some forty interviews with saxophonists, pianists, singers, composers, and string, brass, and rhythm players, he paints a vivid portrait of their lives and influences, including the role of their families and childhood environments. The musicians discuss how they became interested in jazz as youngsters and how they became part of the jazz scene. Nat Adderley recalls how he and his brother Cannonball grew up across from a Tabernacle Baptist Church and how as boys on Sunday they would listen to the music from the church--tambourines and trombones and a blind man playing the piano. Stokes ranges across the globe, both physically and culturally, in his interviews, introducing us to vaudeville stars, blues musicians, and a dozen women instrumentalists--such as acclaimed violinist Regina Carter--out of the many who now shine on a scene where they were once limited to vocals alone. From legendary veterans Jackie McLean and Louie Bellson to such rising stars as Diana Krall, Cyrus Chestnut, and Ingrid Jensen, Stokes gathers together the brightest lights in the jazz firmament, capturing not only the life of the musician, but how the musician gives life to jazz.W. Royal Stokes, Ph.D., has been closely observing the jazz scene since the 1940s and has been writing and lecturing about the art form for two decades. He has served as the Washington Post's jazz critic and as editor and monthly columnist of JazzTimes, and his byline has additionally appeared in
down beat, Ms., Travel Holiday, the Washington Times, and many other publications. His radio show I thought I heard Buddy Bolden say... has been heard on local air waves since the early '70s. A native of Washington, D.C., he resides in Silver Spring, Maryland, with his wife Erika and sons Sutton
and Neale.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780195081084 |
| ISBN 10 | 0195081080 |
| Title | Living the Jazz Life |
| Author | W Royal Stokes |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press Inc |
| Year published | 2000-11-30 |
| Number of pages | 288 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |