14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is a meaty book., May 23, 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: PRES:THE STORY OF LESTER YOUNG (Paperback)
Not only is Luc Delannoy's LESTER YOUNG both scholarly and entertaining; it is a fresh, thought-provoking biography, penned with affection, that breaks new grounds. Delannoy is the first jazz historian I know of to show exactly what Lester meant when he'd quiet tell all those early, prying interviewers: "Frankie Trumbauer was my idol." Also, Delannoy has gone to the trouble of studying the transcript of Lester's Army court hearings, which brightens the light we can now shine into the darker corners of that dreadful wartime experience.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A strong biography., May 23, 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: PRES:THE STORY OF LESTER YOUNG (Paperback)
Delannoy's biography brings together most of the information that can be verified about the life of Young and melds it with a poetic appreciation of his importance as an artist and his suffering as a human being. Simply by relating Young's life story, Delannoy leaves no doubt that major emotional crises transformed Pres from a hard working young musician with a sunny outlook into a paranoid who developed his already eccentric behavior and language as defense mechanisms. Delannoy's strenght as a biographer is in making it clear that the gifts left by Young's genius transcend his bedeviled life
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No