Shelfari Book Activity

Miles

by Miles Davis, Quincy Troupe

For more than forty years Miles Davis has been in the front rank of American music. Universally acclaimed as a musical genius, Miles is one of the most important and influential musicians in the world. The subject of several biographies, now Miles speaks out himself about his extraordinary... (learn more about this book)

Beneath the Underdog : His World As Composed by Mingus

by Charles Mingus, Nel King

A wild, lyrical, and anguished autobiography, in which Charles Mingus pays short shrift to the facts but plunges to the very bottom of his psyche, coming up for air only when it pleases him. He takes the reader through his childhood in Watts, his musical education by the likes of Louis... (learn more about this book)

The History of Jazz

by Ted Gioia

Jazz is the most colorful and varied art form in the world and it was born in one of the most colorful and varied cities, New Orleans. From the seed first planted by slave dances held in Congo Square and nurtured by early ensembles led by Buddy Belden and Joe "King" Oliver, jazz began its long... (learn more about this book)

I Put a Spell on You

by Nina Simone

"Ms. Simone's vocal and piano style make her a culture unto herself." -- New York Times A gorgeous, inimitable singer and songwriter, Nina Simone (1933-2003) changed the face of both music and race relations in America. She struck a chord with bluesy jazz ballads like "Put a Little Sugar in... (learn more about this book)

Blues People

by Imamu Amiri Baraka

"The path the slave took to 'citizenship' is what I want to look at. And I make my analogy through the slave citizen's music -- through the music that is most closely associated with him: blues and a later, but parallel development, jazz... <If> the Negro represents, or is symbolic of,... (learn more about this book)

A Valentin St. Cyr mystery: Book 1

Chasing the Devil's Tail: A Mystery of Storyville, New Orleans

by David Fulmer

Storyville, 1907: In this raucous, bloody, red-light district, where two thousand scarlet women ply their trade in grand mansions and filthy dime-a-trick cribs, where cocaine and opium are sold over the counter, and where rye whiskey flows like an amber river, there's a killer loose. Someone... (learn more about this book)

Effortless Mastery

by Kenny Werner

Paperback book and CD set. Effortless Mastery: Liberating the Master Musician Within is a book for any musician who finds themselves having reached a plateau in their development. Werner, a masterful jazz pianist in his own right, uses his own life story and experiences to explore the... (learn more about this book)

Jazz

by Geoffrey C. Ward

The companion volume to the ten-part PBS TV series by the team responsible for The Civil War and Baseball . Continuing in the tradition of their critically acclaimed works, Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns vividly bring to life the story of the quintessential American music—jazz. Born in the... (learn more about this book)

Deep Blues

by Robert Palmer

Music category type book. Paperback. Robert Palmer, Author. Lightly age toned pages. A Penquin Book. 1982 reprinted in 1988. Printed in USA. Total 310 pages. Approximate size, 5 x 7.75. Brown covers with pictorials of Blues singers, band on the front cover - one guy wearing a blue suit. Pages... (learn more about this book)

But Beautiful

by Geoff Dyer

In eight poetically charged vignettes, Geoff Dyer skillfully evokes the music and the men who shaped modern jazz. Drawing on photos, anecdotes, and, most important, the way he hears the music, Dyer imaginatively reconstructs scenes from the embattled lives of some of the greats: Lester Young... (learn more about this book)