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Setting the Tempo
Since the introduction of the long-playing record, some of the best writing about jazz has appeared on the backs of record covers. Over the years, jazz writers and prominent jazz musicians have annotated record albums with background on the musicians and the recordings, historical context and musical analysis. These annotations, or "liner notes," provide a window on the recording process, as well as intimate anecdotes and personal views of the musicians that have an immediacy and warmth rarely found elsewhere--setting the tempo, in a sense, for the listener's appreciation of the music.
Jazz liner notes, both for new releases and classic material, comprise a rich and vibrant genre of jazz writing that has never been collected--until now. In Setting the Tempo , author and jazz authority Tom Piazza presents fifty of the finest and most distinctive notes from the beginning of the genre, in the 1940s, through the present. Among them are Duke Ellington's moving reminiscences of stride piano master James P. Johnson, brilliant impressions of John Coltrane by poet Leroi Jones (Amiri Baraka); bass virtuoso and composer Charles Mingus's harrangue against his critics, composer Gunther Schuller's extrordinary story of locating Charlie Parker's alto saxophone teacher, and meditations on different meanings of freeedom in jazz by pianist Bill Evans and alto innovator Ornette Coleman. Stanley Crouch, Dan Morgenstern, Ira Gitler, and Ralph J. Gleason and other critics are also represented by some of their strongest work.
A mosaic history of jazz as seen through the occasions of its signal recordings and the sensibilities of some of its foremost observers, Setting the Tempo is one of the most lively collections of jazz writing ever assembled.
Jazz liner notes, both for new releases and classic material, comprise a rich and vibrant genre of jazz writing that has never been collected--until now. In Setting the Tempo , author and jazz authority Tom Piazza presents fifty of the finest and most distinctive notes from the beginning of the genre, in the 1940s, through the present. Among them are Duke Ellington's moving reminiscences of stride piano master James P. Johnson, brilliant impressions of John Coltrane by poet Leroi Jones (Amiri Baraka); bass virtuoso and composer Charles Mingus's harrangue against his critics, composer Gunther Schuller's extrordinary story of locating Charlie Parker's alto saxophone teacher, and meditations on different meanings of freeedom in jazz by pianist Bill Evans and alto innovator Ornette Coleman. Stanley Crouch, Dan Morgenstern, Ira Gitler, and Ralph J. Gleason and other critics are also represented by some of their strongest work.
A mosaic history of jazz as seen through the occasions of its signal recordings and the sensibilities of some of its foremost observers, Setting the Tempo is one of the most lively collections of jazz writing ever assembled.
- GenresJazz
369 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
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November 19, 2015
I've read this book from cover to cover in the past, but this time around I skimmed, reading my favorite selections again, and reading about albums I was listening to at the time. The "chapters" vary in quality, of course, but the best of these album notes combine critical insight with fine writing. Some of my favorites:
Gunther Schuller's account of recording the legendary saxophonist Buster Smith - a several-day-long demonstration of Murphy's Law in action.
Danny Barker's first-hand recollections of his friend and colleague, Chu Berry. The story of the Cab Calloway band leaving the dying Berry at the hospital to go on to the next gig is heartbreaking, especially since it is presented so matter-of-factually.
Martin Williams' appreciation of the revolutionary Ornette Coleman's first Atlantic album, The Shape of Jazz to Come. Coleman was much maligned at the time, but Williams displays a deep understanding of Coleman's music and its implications.
David Himmelstein's harrowing, sleep-deprived account of a tour through Europe with Booker Ervin which resulted in the Setting the Pace album.
One thing that makes this book valuable is that jazz records are often reissued in new editions, with new liner notes. I have most of the albums included here, but often without the liner notes included here. Fascinating reading for any jazz fan.
Gunther Schuller's account of recording the legendary saxophonist Buster Smith - a several-day-long demonstration of Murphy's Law in action.
Danny Barker's first-hand recollections of his friend and colleague, Chu Berry. The story of the Cab Calloway band leaving the dying Berry at the hospital to go on to the next gig is heartbreaking, especially since it is presented so matter-of-factually.
Martin Williams' appreciation of the revolutionary Ornette Coleman's first Atlantic album, The Shape of Jazz to Come. Coleman was much maligned at the time, but Williams displays a deep understanding of Coleman's music and its implications.
David Himmelstein's harrowing, sleep-deprived account of a tour through Europe with Booker Ervin which resulted in the Setting the Pace album.
One thing that makes this book valuable is that jazz records are often reissued in new editions, with new liner notes. I have most of the albums included here, but often without the liner notes included here. Fascinating reading for any jazz fan.
Displaying 1 of 1 review