When 24-year-old piano prodigy Richard Twardzik died of a heroin overdose in his Paris hotel room in 1955, his known recordings amounted to just over an hour of exquisite music. However, in his short life he managed to meet and make music with a number of jazz greats, including Chet Baker, Lionel Hampton, and Charlie Parker — kindred souls in the quest for truth and beauty in mid-20th-century America. Perfectly capturing the effervescent jazz scene of the 1950s, this illuminating biography of Richard Twardzik celebrates his fluid, eccentric style and points to lingering questions about his untimely death.
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About the Author
J. K. (Jack) CHAMBERS is Professor of Linguistics at the University of Toronto. He is the author of Sociolinguistic Theory: Linguistic Variation and Its Social Significance (second edition, 2003), co-editor, with Peter Trudgill and Natalie Schilling-Estes, of The Handbook of Language Variation and Change (2002) and co- author, with Peter Trudgill, of Dialectology (second edition, 1998), as well as other books and scores of articles. He works extensively as a forensic consultant and maintains a parallel vocation in jazz criticism, including the prize-winning biography Milestones: The Music and Times of Miles Davis (1998).
--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
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The Tragic Short Life Of Richard Twardzik,
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This review is from: Bouncin' With Bartok: The Incomplete Works of Richard Twardzik (Paperback)
Pianist Richard Twardzik was like a quick rising and falling star in the jazz world. He grew up and first had visible exposure on Charlie Mariano's album New Sounds From Boston in 1951. He played around with trumpeter Herb Pomeroy. He was recorded at several Boston club performances accompanying Charlie Parker during 1951/52. He played and recorded with the great baritone saxophonist Serge Chaloff 1952/54. He played with Allen Eager in 1953. He was "discovered" by the pianist Russ Freeman who brought his playing to the attention of Richard Bock from Pacific Jazz Records. An album was recorded in October 1954. In the fall of 1955 he joined Chet Baker's group for an illfated tour of Europe. Shortly thereafter he was dead. He had been born in 1931. This book was truly a labor of love by the author. A tremendous amount of personal and original research was expended. Many past associates and relatives were interviewed providing perspectives,insights,documents,letters, pictures of his life. Robert Zieff, the composer/arranger who had been a teacher/mentor to Twardzik provided much information. Twardzik had brought a number of Zieff's unique compositions to Chet Baker and a good number of them were recorded on several albums Chet Baker & Crew and Chet Baker in Paris. This is a fascinating read about a musician who should not be forgotten
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