Jimi Hendrix Musician [Sheet music]

Keith Shadwick (Author), Jimi Hendrix (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2003

Jimi Hendrix: Musician presents a completely fresh look at Hendrix by tracing his musical history and examining him as a guitarist, composer, and singer. Hendrix was a larger-than-life figure, and previous accounts have tended to obscure the role of his musical genius. This book places the visionary musician within the historical context of the 1960s and the years before and after his rise to fame, and within the musical and cultural events during all stages of his career, providing fascinating new clues about how he created his musical masterpieces. Hendrix expert Douglas J. Noble contributes a special examination of the instruments and equipment Hendrix used in his quest for more expressive and exciting sounds. 300 color and black-and-white photographs make this a visual celebration of the genius who created modern rock guitar.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Keith Shadwick was a respected critic, contributing thoughtful analyses of rock, jazz and classical music for The Independent, Jazzwise, Gramophone, ClassicFM and JazzFM. He was the author of several books including a biography of Bill Evans, and Led Zeppelin 1968-1980, both published by Backbeat Books. Shadwick died in London in July 2008, aged 57. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Sheet music: 256 pages
• Publisher: Backbeat Books; 1 edition (October 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879307641
• ISBN-13: 978-0879307646
• Product Dimensions: 12.8 x 10 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,004,410 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

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The 'bookest' book on Hendrix, August 21, 2005

By 

Miros S. "Tytus" (Poland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jimi Hendrix Musician (Sheet music)

I would like to recommend Keith Shadwick's "The Musician" because IMHO it tops everything that was written so far on Jimi.(I'm not bribed by the publishers,by the way). It's very informative, very objective with lots of eyecatching photos. Plus the designer layout ( which makes it look beautiful either on your bookshelf or on a coffee table even if not read :) ;)

What makes it more interesting is the fact,that the final section - devoted to analysis of Jimi's gadgets, guitars, amplifiers, etc is written by High'n'Mighty Mr Douglas J.Noble - the man behind Univibes. And although I'm regrettably a non-musician, I didn't feel like sleeping at this final section

because it was written in a "mentally digestible" way for a layman. What is also worth underlining is that author doesn't dwell on sensationalistic or shady circumstances around Hendrix's life leaving them to over-excited screeming teenagers (or to representants of a yellow journalism). Contrary to the author of this year's Hendrix bio - Cross, Shadvick isn't a sensationalist. Moreover he can turn on a pretty sentence many a time, an ability Cross is devoid of. (Well, these two reasons alone make "The Musican" a perfect companion to "Room Full of Mirrors").The only point to pick on, is huuuge size and tiny, tiny print.

Miros S. "Tytus" / Poland

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Review of One Who Dared to Kiss the Sky, December 5, 2003

By 

o dubhthaigh (north rustico, pei, canada) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Jimi Hendrix Musician (Sheet music)

This coffee table sized tome would make a perfect gift for anyone with an avocation for all things Hendrix. This is a well researched and documented account of the career and personal history of Jimi Hendrix. Shadwick has done a terrific job casting the historical setting that made both his music nad himself possible. While not the musicologist's tome that Lewis Porter did on John Coltrane, the research and writing here is absolutely first rate.
Shadwick clearly sets an historical line that preceeded Hendrix as musician and showman both in the course of R and B and Blues and Jazz (louis Jordan, T Bone Walker, the Isleys, etc) as well as that mix of Cherokee and African family heritage and culture that made him so unique. I'm not clear whether or not this has the official approval of the Hendrix Estate, but it should. It is a compassionate, yet unblinking study of his intrepid courage, his core humble hamnity, and the havoc wrought by the struggles and the success in a world of rock going crazy. In so many ways the "cult of personality" was born around and out of the fascination and adoration of Jimi Hendrix, first and foremost as a musician, and as just this wild hippie, which image became the whale that swallowed the Jonah of new music. At a time when he most needed to retreat from being "Jimi Hendrix" an entire network had contrived to ensnare him The dismay expressed by Mitchell, Redding and Cox is squarely legitimate and indicts for all time those whose msiion it was to consume him.
It clearly jumps out at you who was loyal to Hendrix as a human being, who sycophantically fed off him like a pernicious cancer, destroying a brilliant and yet essentially very kind man. It will aways be one of the great unanswered questions as to where he might have gone with his music. In the case of Coltrane, John had come to contemplate the face of God and may not have been able to articulate any further the rapture he experienced, and thus he may not have died so much as ascended into heaven.
In the case of Hendrix, he had inadvertently grasped onto death's doorhandle and while looking for a way to rise like a Phoenix from what he had clearly perceived as an exhausted road, he did not so much select his end as be virtually tossed from the window while scanning the horizon for a new rising sun.
The book is loaded with great photos and an index, set of references and a discography that is definitively well documented. The interviews recounted with friends, family, loved ones and villains is even handed and objective. This is a terrific book, definitely the best there is about a man whose music impacted and changed forever the way dedicated artists considered their craft. And no one has played the guitar the same way since Jimi Hendrix. He changed everything.

16 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Getting Inside Jimi's Musical Mind, November 12, 2003

By 

Mad Dog "maddog6969" (TimbuckThree, Tennessee) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jimi Hendrix Musician (Sheet music)

So much has been written about Jimi Hendrix, do we really need another full length book? Fortunately, the answer is a resounding "yes"! Keith Shadwick has given us a fresh perspective on Hendrix, one that took this reader on a bit of a travel through time. What we've been missing all these years is a comprehensive source that cuts out all of the superfluous junk and gets down to that which was real, at that time - how it affected the music and how the music affected it.

Electric Gypsy (Harry Shapiro) is an excellent book in that it has the bulk of the factual information on Jimi's life, maybe even too much information. But, in its quest for all things encyclopedic, it seemed to miss out on the spirit of the time that Jimi lived in. Setting The Record Straight (Eddie Karmer and John McDermott) partially bridged this chasm, by taking the reader into not only the studio where Jimi and his bandmates laid down the tracks, but into Jimi's musical mind - the kinds of sounds he wanted to find, where he thought his music could go in the future. In short, it took us into some of Jimi's dreams. Between these two extremes, one can find much middle ground, most of it far more towards the Electric Gypsy camp. To get closer to the man himself and the realities of the world as it was when he was making his mark, one was almost better off searching out vintage magazines, such as Guitar World, Rolling Stone, etc.

But now we have Jimi Hendrix: Musician. The changes brought on by the simple realities of Jimi's musical life are given perspective in this book fare more completely than ever before. We are given glimpses of the journey and not just a facimile of the final destination. And those glimpses provide color so we can see more clearly how difficult it must have been to endure the musician's life back when Jimi was starving. Not only that, we can share in the joy of the good times and also the frustrations Jimi felt when all was not well during his last years.

Jimi's musical tenure was rooted right in the middle of the most incredible of times, when social change moved music and music attempted to cause social change. Many authors have struggled to put the reader into that space and time, but Keith Sedgewick has managed to sail those waters brilliantly.