Customer Reviews

The Best Damn Trumpet Player: Memories of the Big Band Era and Beyond

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This book was a frustrating read because it contains numerous errors of fact, and because of the author's grating tendency to mis-state the names of numerous less-well-known big band era personalities. It was also frustrating because the narratives digress to maudlin nostalgia, in place of providing interesting and meaningful content. The book was clearly a labor of love for the author, who presents himself as an unabashed fan. But,this book is mostly about the author's feelings about the Big Band Era. I'm glad he likes them, and I'm glad he got to meet some people associated with the big bands, but the articles don't add any substance. I would not choose to purchase a book about the author's feelings. This book fails to add to the excellent body of history of the big band era that is currently available.

I liked the Best Damn Trumpet Player. I learned more about the stars of the era than I've ever known. Other books smother you with facts, and who cares. Grudens loves his subjects, the most important players of the era. His is well written, others are about as interesting as telephone directories. He makes the subjects live on the page. He reaches deep into their personality. All his interviews were personal. Those long biographies are stuffed with facts and research and are boring.The fellow from Northeast Kansas complains but doesn't mention any of the "errors". Is he an expert? I understand the book is in the library of Five Towns Music College in Dix Hills, NY and in Boston, in the library of Berklee Music College. That means something to me.