Classic Jazz: A Personal View of the Music and the Musicians [Hardcover]

Floyd Levin (Author), Benny Carter (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 30, 2000

Floyd Levin, an award-winning jazz writer, has personally known many of the jazz greats who contributed to the music's colorful history. In this collection of his articles, published mostly in jazz magazines over a fifty-year period, Levin takes us into the nightclubs, the recording studios, the record companies, and, most compellingly, into the lives of the musicians who made the great moments of the traditional jazz and swing eras. Brilliantly weaving anecdotal material, primary research, and music analysis into every chapter, Classic Jazz: A Personal View of the Music and the Musicians is a gold mine of information on a rich segment of American popular music.
This collection of articles begins with Levin's first published piece and includes several new articles that were inspired by his work on this compilation. The articles are organized thematically, beginning with a piece on Kid Ory's early recordings and ending with a newly written article about the campaign to put up a monument to Louis Armstrong in New Orleans. Along the way, Levin gives in-depth profiles of many well-known jazz legends, such as Jelly Roll Morton, Duke Ellington, and Louis Armstrong, and many lesser-known figures who contributed greatly to the development of jazz.
Extensively illustrated with previously unpublished photographs from Levin's personal collection, this wonderfully readable and extremely personal book is full of information that is not available elsewhere. Classic Jazz: A Personal View of the Music and the Musicians will be celebrated by jazz scholars and fans everywhere for the overview it provides of the music's evolution, and for the love of jazz it inspires on every page.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

"Jazz critic" has always been a polyglot occupation of sorts. Its practitioners are as varied as the music they cover, relying on some musical knowledge and insight into the performers and their personalities. Levin is one of the more unusual critics. He has written extensively on the subject for more than 50 years, with hundreds of his reviews and profiles appearing in major American and overseas publications. But it was just an avocation. He owned a housewares business and devoted to jazz what time he had between sales trips across the country. Still, Levin is an engaging writer and met personally and wrote frequently about the musical legends who shaped jazz in America before and shortly after World War II: Jelly Roll Morton, Duke Ellington, and Louis Armstrong. The collection is anecdotally rich and profiles the studios, record companies, and, of course, the musicians who made the music famous. It's a small sample of the jazz idiom, and many of those profiled by Levin have been all but forgotten, eclipsed by the stars of the bebop era and those who came after them. Perhaps most remarkable of all is Levin, who, with no musical training or ability, carved out a remarkable life for himself out of his sheer love for jazz. Very worthwhile. Ted Leventhal
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"Dozens of rare pictures . . . fill out this volume, which is obviously a labor of love and fine reading." -- San Francisco Chronicle

"In a publishing genre crowded with random collections of reviews . . . , Levin's book offers a far richer, more intimate perspective." -- Don Heckman, Los Angeles Times

"In a publishing genre crowded with random collections of reviews . . . , Levin's book offers a far richer, more intimate perspective." -- Don Heckman, Los Angeles Times

"Offers good essays on lesser-known artists." -- Library Journal

A "fine addition to any collection on jazz." -- Charlotte Observer

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 358 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (November 30, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520213602
• ISBN-13: 978-0520213609
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,755,489 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Floyd Levin's Personal View of Jazz and Jazz Musicians, November 14, 2000

By 

F. Norman Vickers (Pensacola, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Classic Jazz: A Personal View of the Music and the Musicians (Hardcover)

Floyd Levin has always been a stalwart jazz enthusiast. Living in the Los Angeles area, he has had opportunity to know many of the jazz musicians personally and to share their stories with the readers. As the title implies, this is a personal recollection for Levin.

Floyd's book fleshes out some of the jazz history and clarifies some points. One is the story about the plaque in Touro Infirmary in New Orleans. Trumpeter Muggsy Spanier had a perforated ulcer which was operated by the famous Dr. Alton Ochsner, Tulane Professor and founder of famed Ochsner Clinic. During convalescence, Spanier composed and later recorded a tune called "Relaxin' at the Touro." Previous jazz writings had told about a plaque in Touro commemorating this event. Floyd tracked down the plaque which administration couldn't exactly locate. Because there had been renovation, the plaque was in a somewhat obscure location. Levin interviewed Muggsy about the event and they became fast friends. ( This is frequently a jazz quiz question: In the famous Muggsy Spanier tune, "Relaxin' at the Touro," what is the Touro? Now you know the answer.)

Levin writes about musicians he has known including Benny Carter, who wrote the foreword, James P. Johnson, Milt Hinton, Wild Bill Davison, Artie Shaw, Barney Bigard and many others. He also includes many West Coast musicians with whom he came in contact. There is a chapter on musicians, lesser known, who deserved greater recognition. Two of those included reedmen Pud Brown and Rick Fay.

Levin's concluding chapter covers the struggle to get an appropriate memorial for Louis Armstrong. Funds were being raised by various jazz societies and individuals for a statue of Armstrong to be erected in Armstrong's native New Orleans. He recounts how Bing Crosby donated the proceeds of a concert in San Francisco which put the fund over the top. That twice-lifesize statue of Armstrong stands in Armstrong Park in New Orleans and was unveiled on the nation's bicentennial in Jackson Square in New Orleans. Levin made the presentation, on behalf of the Louis Armstrong Statue Fund, to the city of New Orleans. Four years later, the statue was permanently erected and dedicated in Armstrong Park.

This book is not a definitive jazz history but an interesting view into the lives and careers of musicians who have been influential in shaping jazz--America's Music.

My review of this book is not without personal bias. I have known and worked with Levin on the Board of American Federation of Jazz Societies and have visited with him at various jazz festivals and in his home. Two of my photographs have been included in the book. I am pleased to have known him and congratulate him on completion of this book, his labor of love.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Delicious Popouri, April 17, 2002

By 

Ken Kvammen (Newport Beach, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Classic Jazz: A Personal View of the Music and the Musicians (Paperback)

Maybe I shouldn't call the book a popouri of Jazz musicians because Levin's stories of the many personalities and events are well organized. However, a mine of classic jazzmen, famous and/or forgotten, are included with stuning, compeling and personal detail. Many talents I followed years ago who'd dropped off the radar, and about whom I've never been able to glean prior information, are included along with their more famous brothers and sisters.

What makes the book a real five star celebration are the first hand naratives along with page turning drama and pictures that carries along any New Orleans, Chicago, San Francisco, et. al. jazz lover. The book is in lyric style just like the music it presents with great pictures as well.

Persosnally I savored the mid-century west coast scenes, documenting what has not prevously been so well described, about Ory and the host of his compatriots including my favorite, Buster Wilson (whom I had never found in any other publications).

For me this is the best jazz book ever -- just what I wanted.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Trad jazz fans should read this book, January 7, 2003

By 

A Southern Reader (New Orleans, LA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Classic Jazz: A Personal View of the Music and the Musicians (Hardcover)

If you love New Orleans traditional jazz, you gotta read this book. Mr. Levin writes about many of the legends of jazz and recounts personal experiences with many of the the jazz musicians. I liked the depth of treatment by the author. He tells you a lot of interesting things about the musicians and their careers, but doesn't go overboard in telling you more than you really want to know. His telling of the story of how the statute of Louis Armstrong made it to Louis Armstrong Park in New Orleans is especially informative. I recommend it to most anyone who has an interest in traditional jazz, but especially to those who want ot knwo just a little bit more about the major players.