The Jazz And Blues Lover's Guide To The U.s.: With More Than 900 Hot Clubs, Cool Joints, Landmarks, And Legends, From Boogie-woogie To Bop And Beyond [Paperback]

Christiane Bird (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 20, 1994

Where did Charlie Parker first play with Dizzy Gillespie? What are the best jazz clubs in Chicago and many other cities? This completely updated edition of The Jazz and Blues Lover’s Guide to the U.S. tells readers where to find everything from the current music scene to major jazz/blues landmarks in more than twenty-five American cities and the Mississippi Delta. With city-by-city listings for clubs, festivals, musicians’ homes, historic theaters, record stores, radio stations—and with anecdotes from club owners and performers—The Jazz and Blues Lover’s Guide is the essential “where-to” bible for jazz and blues fans everywhere.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This unique annotated directory of 900 jazz and blues landmarks covers 25 U.S. cities while summarizing many of the music's major and minor figures. For nightclub listings, though, it's a snapshot of an ephemeral world. A spot check revealed that some clubs listed for New York, Atlanta, and Chicago have since closed. (The author suggests calling ahead to verify information.) Perhaps most valuable to travelers will be the lists of local entertainment publications in each city. The historical notes might serve as a jazz/blues primer, but some entries are so compressed as to be potentially misleading. Although this guide will continue to date, it does provide pleasant armchair traveling. An optional selection.
- Paul Baker, CUNA Inc., Madison, Wis.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

This guide to more than 900 "hot clubs, cool joints, landmarks and legends, from Boogie-Woogie to Bop and Beyond" offers a lot in a small package-an important slice of musical history; a travel guide; interesting social commentary, particularly about race relations in this country; and entertaining anecdotes. Christiane Bird bemoans the fate of blues and jazz, which as America's most original art form, has never attained the kind of sustained attention it deserves. Her book really is a celebration-an inside look at all the places where jazz and blues live-national clubs that pull in talent from all over the country, the little hole-in-the-wall places that feature local talent and the yuppie in-betweeners. Splitting the country into regions, and within each, larger cities, chapters briefly outline a particular city's jazz and blues history, mention locations of musical landmarks, and then cover the music scene as it is now (including record stores, radio shows, etc.). Specific entries on clubs include address, description and ambience, who plays there regularly, and other pertinent data. Written in an easygoing, intelligent style, this is a top notch guide for finding your way to the best of the best blues and jazz spots across the country. -- From The WomanSource Catalog & Review: Tools for Connecting the Community for Women; review by PH

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press; Updated edition (April 20, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201626489
• ISBN-13: 978-0201626483
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 4.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,659,507 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Guide For Mississippi Delta Blues, October 14, 1999

By 

RickKennedy "RickKennedy" (Cincinnati, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Jazz And Blues Lover's Guide To The U.s.: With More Than 900 Hot Clubs, Cool Joints, Landmarks, And Legends, From Boogie-woogie To Bop And Beyond (Paperback)

So much has been written on the historic sites of the Mississippi Delta Blues, but finding these great lost spots is another thing - until this book. The book was invaluable in touring the Delta and finding the hard-to-find graves, juke joints, etc. The book allowed me to find the famed house where Robert Johnson was allegedly poisoned in 1938. Beautiful. The problem is, these kinds of books are outdated the moment they are published, but with Bird's guide to historic sites, you can't go wrong. Wonderful guide for anyone into the Theater of the Obscure.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars very useful and hasn't missed yet in the 5 city's I've tried, July 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Jazz And Blues Lover's Guide To The U.s.: With More Than 900 Hot Clubs, Cool Joints, Landmarks, And Legends, From Boogie-woogie To Bop And Beyond (Paperback)

i am a businessman who likes to go out at night in new towns and hit some local blues joints. I have used this book in several cities for blues clubs and it is great. Hotel concierges are useless when trying to find good blues clubs, or anywhere with live music for that matter. This book is essential for out of towners, however it may need to be updated very soon as I am worried that the 1994 date is getting a little old.