Pressed for All Time: Producing the Great Jazz Albums from Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday to Miles Davis and Diana Krall

by Michael Jarrett

In histories of music, producers tend to fall by the wayside--generally unknown and seldom acknowledged. But without them and their contributions to the art form, we'd have little on record of some of the most important music ever created. Discover the stories behind some of jazz's best-selling and most influential albums in this collection of oral histories gathered by music scholar and writer Michael Jarrett. Drawing together interviews with over fifty producers, musicians, engineers, and label executives, Jarrett shines a light on the world of making jazz records by letting his subjects tell their own stories and share their experiences in creating the American jazz canon.

Packed with fascinating stories and fresh perspectives on over 200 albums and artists, including legends such as Louis Armstrong, John Coltrane, and Miles Davis, as well as contemporary artists such as Diana Krall and Norah Jones, Pressed for All Time tells the unknown stories of the men and women who helped to shape the quintessential American sound.

Genres: Music, Jazz

303 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2016

Reviews

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are interested in the back story of how classic jazz albums were produced along with some juicy gossip about the artists who played on them, this is the book to read. The producer interviews were done over a twenty year period. When the book was finally published in 2016, many had passed on. A great read for anyone interested in jazz. Highly recommended.

[Barry Hammond · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michael Jarrett has spent years interviewing as many of the great jazz record producers as he was able and has collected both their thoughts on record producing and stories about the artists they worked with and the people who came before them and mentored them. The result is collection of tales of the making of the greatest jazz records organized by the era of the recording style and the individual records and their producers. An invaluable history of jazz recordings and the people who ma\de them . - BH.

[B.J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hit and miss. Interesting for albums I knew, less so for those I’d never heard of. It also has the drawbacks that come with oral histories—wide variety of voices, inconsistencies, gaps, and a lack of detail. Ultimately, this topic (producing music) is probably better suited for a medium with audio, where the producer/engineer can play examples, compare and contrast different takes, etc. Reading about how good, bad, or indifferent something sounded only goes so far.

[Thom · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a treasure. Michael Jarrett gives us a heretofore unseen glimpse into the industry of jazz record production. Fascinating!

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful look into the behind-the-scenes production of a ton of major jazz recordings!