Treat It Gentle: An Autobiography (A Da Capo paperback) [Paperback]

Sidney Bechet (Author)

Book Description

Series: A Da Capo paperback | Publication Date: September 1978

This autobiography was taken down in interviews with John Ciardi and Joan Reid, and put into book form by Desmond Flower. In it, Bechet reacalls his life in music, highlighting his narrative with tales of Sunday afternoon "bucking contests" between black and Creole "musicianers", his deportation from London, and the gunfight that put him in jail in Paris. Unlike most jazz musicians, whose musical lives often end at 40, Bechet remained musically active into his 60s, adapting his style to each successive peak of jazz history, and reaching his peak in the New Orleans Revival of the 1940s and early 1950s. He was a keen observer of the jazz scene and his memoirs feature numerous profiles of the men and women who helped jazz grow and develop: Buddy Bolden, Bessie Smith, Manuel Perez, Clarence Williams, "Duke" Ellington and other jazz personalities.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"One of the most eloquent autobiographies ever written by an American artist." -- -Martin Williams --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Sidney Bechet (1897-1959) was one of the most brilliant exponents of New Orleans jazz. A prodigy on the clarinet, he soloed with Bunk Johnson's orchestra at age eleven, was improvising cornet-clarinet duos with Buddy Petit at age fifteen. Leaving New Orleans in the 1920s, Bechet took his Creole sound and spirit to New York, where he adopted the soprano saxophone and soon developed the unique style that marked his special artistry.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 251 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Pr; 1st paperback ed edition (September 1978)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306800861
• ISBN-13: 978-0306800863
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,719,479 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Poetic Autobiography from Jazz Virtuoso, March 25, 2000

By 

D.C.Meyer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Treat It Gentle: An Autobiography (A Da Capo paperback) (Paperback)

New Orleans born clarinet and sax player Sidney Bechet was one of the all time great jazz musicians. Duke Ellington said "Bechet to me was the very epitome of jazz...he was the most unique man ever to be in this music". Lil Hardin Armstrong (Louis Armstrong's wife) said that Bechet deserved to be as famous as Louis Armstrong, as he was just as talented. Bechet finally achieved the fame and fortune he deserved in his last decade of life, living in France.

"Treat It Gentle" is Bechet's autobiography. It reveals him to be a wonderfull story teller. He begins with facinating family tales of his musician grandfather born in slavery, tells about growing up in New Orleans as jazz was first being formed, and continues through his colorful life story.

I recomend this book to any fan of Bechet's wonderful music, or those interested in early jazz or African-American history. I also recomend that you follow up "Treat It Gentle" by reading John Chilton's book "Sidney Bechet The Wizard of Jazz" which gets to the story behind Bechet's story and tells more about Bechet's facinating life. You'll find that, Yes, Sidney Bechet does deserve two books about him.

-- DCM "Froggy"

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Greatest Jazz Biography, December 17, 2009

By 

Jonathan A. Weiss (New York, New York) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Treat It Gentle: An Autobiography (Paperback)

Sicney Bechet was one of the few geniuses jazz has produced. His authobioraphy is the best book anyone has published about the roots, development and meaning of jazz. His accounts of racial struggles, his travels, and most of all. his opinions about music and musicians provide more and more unique insights than any other volume I have ever read. Introduced by Rudi Blesh who has written two excellent books himself, this work is a necessary addition for anyone interested in Black history, American history, jazz history, music, and the experience of a great man in those contexts.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Truth in Jazz, June 5, 2009

By 

David H. Kline "The Gardener" (Santa Clara, California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Treat It Gentle: An Autobiography (Paperback)

Whether you're a musician, especially if you are, read this! Sidney Bechet is not an educated writer, thank goodness, but his spare language is as powerful and moving as his music. He goes straight to the heart of the matter, his own soul, for the truth in jazz which he says belongs to everyone. If you're a "musicianer" or a listener and you improvise, you'll find a brother here. You'll forget whether you're black or white. Or blue, for that matter.