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New Orleans Style
Paperback
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About the author
Bill Russell
53 books13 followersLibrarian Note: There are multiple authors by this name in the Goodreads database.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
November 2, 2012
New Orleans Style is an oral history; jazz researcher Bill Russell interviewed three or four of the most important early New Orleans jazz players of each instrument and edited the interviews into a narrative. Or, rather, he began the editing process, but died before the book was finished. Barry Martyn and Mike Hazeldine completed the book, based on Russell's outline and notes.
The book offers a fascinating, multi-faceted view of early New Orleans jazz. It's interesting to see where different musicians contradict each other, and where they confirm what others have said. I enjoyed it all except for trumpeter Natty Dominique's chapter; it mostly reveals Dominique's emotional/personality issues. Most of his stories are variations on how this or that musician offended him or hurt his feeling, and how he was vindicated in the end.
This is not a primer for those unfamiliar with New Orleans jazz; rather, it fleshes out the picture for those who already know something about the subject. Like all of Jazzology's books, it's an odd, large size (approx. 8" x 10"), and is printed with large-ish type on a heavy stock paper. I've never been able to decide if I like Jazzology's publishing style or not. The volumes seem sturdy, but I know that the Jazzology books I refer to most often are starting to fall apart.
The book offers a fascinating, multi-faceted view of early New Orleans jazz. It's interesting to see where different musicians contradict each other, and where they confirm what others have said. I enjoyed it all except for trumpeter Natty Dominique's chapter; it mostly reveals Dominique's emotional/personality issues. Most of his stories are variations on how this or that musician offended him or hurt his feeling, and how he was vindicated in the end.
This is not a primer for those unfamiliar with New Orleans jazz; rather, it fleshes out the picture for those who already know something about the subject. Like all of Jazzology's books, it's an odd, large size (approx. 8" x 10"), and is printed with large-ish type on a heavy stock paper. I've never been able to decide if I like Jazzology's publishing style or not. The volumes seem sturdy, but I know that the Jazzology books I refer to most often are starting to fall apart.
Displaying 1 of 1 review