Treat It Gentle: An Autobiography (Da Capo Paperback) (Paperback)

~ (Author) "You know there's people, they got the wrong idea of Jazz..." (more)
Key Phrases: white musicianers, fine musicianer, good musicianer, New Orleans, New York, Buddy Bolden (more...)

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.

Product Description

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.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press; 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: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,330,665 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

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

By	D.C.Meyer (New Orleans, LA USA) - See all my reviews

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"

1 of 1 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 (REAL NAME)

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.