Customer Reviews

The Jazz Life (Da Capo Paperback)

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While inevitably much of this book is dated - it was written in 1961, as jazz was reaching a crest - that's also one of its strengths. Hentoff's account of the 1960 Newport Jazz Festival riots is fresh and indignant; his peek at recording dates by Louis Armstrong and Miles Davis (for Sketches of Spain!) are fascinating; and though his profiles of Mingus and Davis don't reveal any surprises, the ones for Count Basie, John Lewis, and Ornette Coleman are engrossing. It's too bad that the prediction he made in the new introduction from the 70s that rock n' roll fans would turn to jazz in disillusionment never came to happen.

Nat Hentoff was by far the greatest jazz historian and writer. He combined a hip, insider's point of view with a sublime writing style to create paens to these great artists that are both informative and readable. And his expertise isnt limited to jazz - check out his homage to Merle Haggard!