Customer Reviews

Trumpet Blues: The Life of Harry James

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Harry James was a titan of the trumpet and Big Bands. We have sorely needed a biography, and I think that this first biography is absolutely superb. Harry James has always been my #1 favorite. "Trumpet Blues" confirms for me James' extraordinary musical contributions but also fleshes out his story with a rich, full treatment of the realities - both good and bad - of his professional and personal lives. Included are excellent materials on his grand musical history, his first wife, the appealing singer Louise Tobin, and his second wife, the marvelous Betty Grable. I came away from the book with a much different and far more realistic vision of Harry James than I had going in - that he indeed was a musical giant (he is still my #1 favorite) but that he also was a human being with his share of personal flaws and imperfections to go with his fine qualities. I am glad that "Trumpet Blues" is here and that I read it.

I met Harry in 1974, when I was 14, in between sets at the South Shore Music Circus. He had two trumpet cases, one for his horns and another for something clear he was drinking. As a young trumpet player, he was my idol, and musically still is. The accompanying CD to this bio has some terrific releases on it, but would have been even better had they included "Countin," "One on the House," "Blues for Harry's Sake," and "Bangtail," the key charts from his great comeback band.

As much as I always wanted to read an account of his life, however, I'm almost sorry I did. Now I know what the clear liquid was, and how badly it tormented the greatest trumpet player ever. The book is interesting, but we still need an account of Harry's super-human technique. What bore did he use on his King, and how did that bore, which I've heard was the largest they ever constructed, mesh with the tiny Parduba mouthpiece. What mouthpiece did he learn on when he was building his chops on circus music, the hardest music in the world?

And how on earth did he ever manage to perform at such a high level for 45 years with his lifestyle, is unanswered here. Playing at his level after a fifth of bourbon just doesn't seem credible, although if he could drink Phil Harris under the table maybe it was. There is likewise no evidence presented to justify the physical abuse charge levelled against Everette, save for the rapped on the knuckles vignette Harry told to Merv Griffin. There are other munched nuances as well: Harry is placed at Reagan's second inaugural, even though he would have been dead for a year and a half then. It would have been interesting to hear more from FS, Jr., as well. Artie Shaw had it right in this jacket blurb: this is a horribly depressing story. Harry, when I finished it, I cried for you.

At last a biography that reads like a novel. From the first page this book pulls in the reader. I relived an era that took place long before my birth. Harry James is a musical legend hard to capture in written word. Levinson did just that. After a tearful farewell to Harry I watched "Springtime in the Rockies".

Having been a trumpet player and Harry James fan for many years, I was delighted to read Trumpet Blues. It was a sorely needed account of a fabulous technician and musician. A great book, very complete, though I yearned for a little more in the way of comments regarding Harry's technical approach. There is a nice treatment of Harry's sweet balladry which drew criticism from the jazz quarter. Because Harry could sell records by making his trumpet almost speak, as in 'If I Loved You' and 'Sleepy Lagoon' he was thought to be 'too commercial'. What the critics failed to note, or to even hear, was the emotion in the horn. 'Mona Lisa' was no less a work than his swing and jazz playing. His high 'e' entrance in 'If I Loved You' was astonishing. Pick up this book if you are a trumpet player or a music buff. Well done!

I originally bought this book when it came out in 1999 and actually spoke with Mr. Peter Levinson putting him on to several contacts when the book was in preparation. I have not chosen to send in my review until now after having reread the book several times.

Harry James was a phenomenon in the music world: a musician who reached the pinnacle of success in record sales, popularity with the masses, stardom in the glory days of Hollywood musicals and longevity in the big band arena long after the hay days of the big bands. He was a child prodigy, mastering his instrument, the trumpet, at a very early age of fourteen. In two years he was on the road with territory bands and at twenty he was leading the top big band trumpet section in the country with the Benny Goodman band. When he formed his own band at twenty three he already had a body of recorded jazz work equal to all the trumpet giants of his era. He had the blues soul of a Louis Armstrong, Mugsy Spanier and Bix Beiderbecke but because he reached real commercial stardom based on commercial ballads, and, he was WHITE, many of the so called jazz critics of the day demeaned his jazz work and dismissed all his later work. If one traverses the jazz shelves of the local libraries one will be hard pressed to find many references to Harry James listed among the elite jazz icons in any number of jazz histories as reviewed by current so-called jazz critics. These wet behind the ears critics continue to believe you have to be BLACK to have any credibility in jazz. Similarly, one does not see the name of Stan Kenton or Artie Shaw mentioned as much or ever as one sees the names of Basie, Fletcher Henderson or Chick Webb. The truth is, as Gunther Schuller, the noted music historian has noted, Harry James took the jazz trumpet to a new level never before reached in his era or even after. He HAD the blues soul of Louis Armstrong and others but possessed the brilliant and unsurpassed technique of a Rafael Mendez, that earlier giants like Armstrong, Spanier and Beiderbecke could only have dreamed about. Couple that with his turn to hit commercial instrumental-vocal ballads and moderate swing in the early '40's and the subsequent financial rewards, the critics literally turned on Harry James. That is especially disheartening in light of the body of commercial junk Armstrong recorded for literally the last twenty five years of his life and even Miles Davis, with his excursions into so-called jazz rock and fusion, but they never got the critical arrows fired at them as did James.

The truth is that Harry James was the number one icon to all the trumpet stars who rose with him and for decades after, such diverse talents as Maynard Ferguson, Clifford Brown, Doc Severinsen, Freddie Hubbard, Miles Davis, Arturo Sandoval, Wynton Marsallis and dozens of others. The "real" critics like Schuller, Leonard Feather and George Simon all agree that Harry James was truly a one and only jazz-big band-trumpet "super star". I first heard him at age seven when an older cousin played Harry's hit recording of "The Flight Of The Bumblebee" for me. I was dazzled and had my parents start me on the trumpet. He was my idol then and some fifty plus years later still is.

Having known Harry James from 1963 on, as well as being a professional player myself, I enjoyed the book tremendously. There are a couple of glaring inaccuracies however. One was the statement that Harry's solo on "Shine" was left out of the "Benny Goodman Story" just isn't so. I have the movie, and it's in it. Another was the reference to the get-well card signed by all of the top trumpet players in Hollywood to Harry. The author stated that Conrad Gozzo signed it. That would have been a neat trick, because Goz pre-deceased Harry by almost 20 years. I would also have liked to have seen more reference to Ziggy Elman, who, together with Harry basically pioneered the combination of "schmaltz" and pure raw power in their swinging approach to ensemble, as well as solo playing. All in all, however, it was a good read. I recommend it to all who are interested in this titan of trumpet swing. Tony Horowitz

This book is something that has long been over due,a look at the life and career of arguably the greatest horn player of the bigband era and of all time.The cover for both the hardcover and paperback edition,along with a new greatest hits CD released around the same time,is taken from the cover of one of Harrys' better 50s Capitol Albums "Harrys Choice".
Often maligned by critics for being schmaltzy and too commercial(a cheap tactic used much too often to put down those they didn't like or that didn't fit their perception of how they thought their music should be played),Harry nevertheless was a master of his instrument and his dedication to his music never wavered.There wasn't a style of music that Harry couldn't play and make it seem effortless and he KNEW what the public wanted to hear.
This book however is not the volume I would have hoped for.
The author knew Harry off and on from the late 1950s until his death but his narrative I found to be lacking a definite rhythym
and progressiveness.He often jumps from story to story and in the telling the timeline often gets muddied and you can find yourself unsure of what year it is he's referring to.
Also much is made of Harrys' drinking and other sordid aspects of his career.While I'm all for getting at the truth of ones' subject matter sometimes this can be just a little overdone these days while other areas may go wanting.For example I would loved to have learned more about his late 40s period(the recordings,his arrangers,the bebop influence,his live dates,etc)instead of the approximately 10 pages he did write with very little of substance to glean from.
Also there is NO discography.His short bibliography(only 13 references!)lists "The Complete List of all Harry James Recordings(1995)", so why wasn't this at least used as a starting point by the author to research and obtain his own discography?
It also contains about 17 pages of photos many of which have been previously published elsewhere.
In conclusion,all in all this book though LONG overdue is a disappointment from a lack of a good narrative style and information standpoint.However it is a good start and one can only hope the next book that appears on Harry James will compliment this one by filling in many of the gaps left by Mr.Levinson.

Having been a trumpet player and Harry James fan for many years, I was delighted to read Trumpet Blues. It was a sorely needed account of a fabulous technician and musician. A great book, very complete, though I yearned for a little more in the way of comments regarding Harry's technical approach. There is a nice treatment of Harry's sweet balladry which drew criticism from the jazz quarter. Because Harry could sell records by making his trumpet almost speak, as in 'If I Loved You' and 'Sleepy Lagoon' he was thought to be 'too commercial'. What the critics failed to note, or to even hear, was the emotion in the horn. 'Mona Lisa' was no less a work than his swing and jazz playing. His high 'e' entrance in 'If I Loved You' was astonishing. Pick up this book if you are a trumpet player or a music buff. Well done!

It is too bad Mr. Levinson isn't still alive to "repair" his book. The premise of this book is to demonstrate all of Harry James' negative attributes. The book is replete with inaccuracies, defective timelines and some just plain untruths. My wife and I knew Harry James very well. In fact, my wife was the last vocalist Harry himself chose and yet Mr. Levinson never contacted her for an interview. It is a shame that there isn't a more accurate, compassionate depiction of the great Harry James' life. Read only if you have to!!

This book gives you an account of Harry's career. Harry James was a very private person and as it turns out the people that knew him, didn't really know him. Typical of some of the late Rock Stars of the 60s, Harry James's talent enabled him to do what he wanted to do, and often the things Harry wanted to do really wasn't in the best interest for Harry's well being.

As a trumpet player, I found the book to be both very interesting as I couldn't put the book down and very very depressing as I wish I had not picked it up. Maybe just listening to his recordings on Youtube is the best way to hear and see Harry James. This is when he was at peace and when he was the most happiest.

For me this is the way to remember him and I will try to forget what I read about him in regards to his personal life.