Mostrando resultados por autor "Kevin S.W. Baxter" en Todas las categorías

Artie Shaw remains one of the most fascinating enigmas in American music—a virtuoso clarinetist who became a star of the Swing Era, then walked away from it all. Artie Shaw: Swing’s Reluctant Clarinet King reveals the complete story of a man who defined the sound of an era and defied the limits of celebrity. From his early struggles in Depression-era New Haven to his rise in New York’s cutthroat jazz scene, Shaw’s journey unfolds in vivid, scene-driven detail. Each chapter captures his growth from a teenage prodigy playing dance halls to the architect of “Begin the Beguine,” the...

Eric Dolphy: Avant-Garde’s Multi-Reed Virtuoso offers a richly detailed portrait of one of the most original figures in twentieth-century music. A virtuoso of the alto saxophone, bass clarinet, and flute, Dolphy transformed the very notion of what these instruments could express. His playing was characterized by startling intervals, elastic phrasing, and an emotional directness that transcended stylistic boundaries. Whether performing alongside Charles Mingus’s volcanic ensembles, matching John Coltrane’s spiritual intensity, or conversing freely with Ornette Coleman’s liberated ...

Wayne Shorter transformed the language of jazz. From his childhood in Newark’s bustling postwar neighborhoods to the transcendent performances that reshaped modern music, his story is one of relentless imagination and fearless discovery. Wayne Shorter: Saxophone’s Spiritual Explorer offers the definitive portrait of a musician who saw sound as both science and prayer. Drawing from decades of archives, session notes, and eyewitness accounts, this immersive biography traces Shorter’s journey through every creative chapter: the disciplined brilliance of the Jazz Messengers, the radical ...

Lionel Hampton’s story is the sound of modern America finding its rhythm. Born in Louisville in 1908 and raised on Chicago’s South Side, he transformed a childhood fascination with percussion into a seven-decade career that changed the face of jazz. From the marching cadences of the Black church to the luminous shimmer of the vibraphone, Hampton’s journey traced the rise of swing itself—a language of joy, persistence, and liberation. This definitive biography follows Hampton’s evolution from a young drummer in community bands to a groundbreaking collaborator with Louis Armstrong ...

Tommy Dorsey’s trombone defined an age when precision was emotion and melody carried the weight of elegance. Brass and Grace traces his journey from the coal towns of Pennsylvania to the glittering ballrooms of New York and Hollywood, capturing how one man’s pursuit of tonal perfection reshaped American music. Drawing from meticulous research, it reconstructs the evolution of swing through Dorsey’s exacting leadership, his collaborations with Frank Sinatra and Sy Oliver, and his lifelong balance between control and feeling. Across thirty chronologically woven chapters, the biography ...

Archie Shepp reshaped the sound of modern jazz and the meaning of freedom itself. From his early years in Philadelphia’s postwar clubs to his radical recordings with Cecil Taylor and John Coltrane, this definitive biography captures the sweep of an extraordinary life—musician, educator, activist, and thinker. Drawing on decades of interviews, archival research, and performance history, the book follows Shepp’s journey from bebop apprentice to global icon of the avant-garde. Each chapter explores how his music confronted the racial and political tensions of his era—culminating in the...

Born into Southern privilege and tragedy, Gram Parsons remade American music before dying at twenty-six. This definitive biography traces his life from Waycross, Georgia, through Harvard’s coffeehouses, the Los Angeles counterculture, and into the deserts of California where myth overtook memory. Drawing on archival accounts, interviews, and firsthand documentation, it renders the man behind the legend—brilliant, restless, and undone by his own pursuit of transcendence. Through vivid narrative and deep cultural context, the book follows Parsons’s journey from early folk experiments to...

From smoky San Francisco dance halls to the luminous heights of Take Five, Paul Desmond: Alto’s Lyrical Romantic traces the life of one of jazz’s most distinctive voices. This sweeping biography follows Desmond’s journey from a Depression-era childhood immersed in radio orchestras to his emergence as the melodic conscience of the Dave Brubeck Quartet. Through archival depth and narrative intimacy, it captures a musician who turned understatement into art and transformed quietness into strength. Across thirty richly detailed chapters, the book explores the disciplined gentleness that ...

Don Redman shaped the sound of American jazz long before it had a name. From his small-town beginnings in West Virginia to his revolutionary work with Fletcher Henderson, Redman transformed improvisation into design and collective energy into musical architecture. His charts for Louis Armstrong, McKinney’s Cotton Pickers, and his own orchestra set the standard for swing—structured yet alive, intelligent yet joyful. Drawing on archival research, historical recordings, and the voices of his peers, Don Redman: Jazz’s First Great Arranger reveals how one man’s precision and imagination ...

Born in 1925 in Inglewood, California, Zoot Sims grew up surrounded by vaudeville stages and the music that would define his life. From his teenage tours with Benny Goodman and Woody Herman’s legendary “Four Brothers” saxophone section to his intimate club sessions at New York’s Half Note and Village Vanguard, Sims shaped a sound that embodied joy without pretense. His light, fluid phrasing carried the spirit of swing into modern jazz, bridging generations with effortless warmth. This definitive biography traces the full arc of his life—from early clarinet lessons and long road ...

Jimmie Lunceford led one of the most exacting and joyful orchestras in American music—a band whose wit, discipline, and polish redefined what swing could be. In this definitive biography, readers follow his journey from a Mississippi childhood to the Cotton Club, where his orchestra’s choreographed sophistication set a new benchmark for musical showmanship. Drawing on archival research, interviews, and performance analysis, the book reconstructs how Lunceford’s unique blend of intellect and entertainment helped shape the sound of the swing era. Each chapter traces a key stage of his ...

Gerry Mulligan’s sound changed the shape of modern jazz. From his early years in Queens to his work alongside Miles Davis, Chet Baker, and Dave Brubeck, Mulligan transformed the baritone saxophone from a background instrument into a lyrical voice of intelligence and grace. Air and Architecture — Gerry Mulligan and the Art of Cool Jazz traces his full life and career in unprecedented depth, drawing from archival research, session notes, interviews, and letters preserved in the Library of Congress. The narrative unfolds through the disciplined curiosity that defined Mulligan’s art. Each...

Coleman Hawkins reshaped twentieth-century music. From his Missouri childhood to the heights of Harlem’s jazz scene, he transformed the tenor saxophone from novelty horn to instrument of thought. This definitive biography traces his evolution—from ragtime beginnings to swing stardom, European exile, and his return as the intellectual father of bebop. Each chapter draws from archival research, interviews, and contemporary reports to chart a life lived in pursuit of musical truth. Across three decades, Hawkins reinvented his sound with unrelenting curiosity. In the 1930s he gave jazz its ...

From the dance halls of Depression-era Milwaukee to the world’s grandest stages, Woody Herman: The Herd’s Tireless Leader traces the relentless rhythm of a man who kept swing alive through six tumultuous decades of American music. This documentary-grade biography follows Herman’s life in full arc—from his vaudeville childhood and rise through the big-band boom to his postwar innovations that fused bebop and blues into a modern jazz vocabulary. Grounded in archival research and first-hand accounts, the book reveals how Herman built not just a band but a musical community. Readers ...

Across four decades, David Rawlings built one of the most enduring and quietly revolutionary bodies of work in American music. As the creative partner to Gillian Welch, a producer, guitarist, and guardian of analog craftsmanship, Rawlings reshaped how authenticity sounds. David Rawlings: Americana’s Subtle Architect traces that journey with the precision of archival research and the intimacy of lived history. Beginning in Rhode Island’s modest folk circles and leading to Nashville’s storied studios, this definitive biography chronicles the formation of Rawlings’s unique philosophy...

Guy Clark reshaped the language of American songwriting. From the windswept plains of Monahans, Texas, to the kitchen-table salons of Nashville, his songs carried a craftsman’s precision and a poet’s empathy. Guy Clark: Poet of Texas Songcraft traces his journey through six decades of music—where every lyric, chord, and silence was built to last. This definitive biography follows Clark’s life from his early years surrounded by West Texas storytellers to his arrival in the Houston folk scene of the 1960s and his legendary mentorship in Nashville’s creative circles. Drawing on ...

Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton was more than a blues singer—she was a force of nature who shaped the sound and spirit of American music. Long before rock and roll had a name, her thunderous contralto, biting wit, and fearless stage presence defined its power. From her roots in Alabama church choirs to the roadhouses of Texas and the studios of Los Angeles, Thornton lived a life that defied expectation, redefined performance, and left a mark on every artist who followed. This definitive biography traces her journey year by year, from her early gospel performances through the grueling ...

Born Marion Walter Jacobs in the rural heart of Louisiana, Little Walter rose from the rhythms of field songs and gospel hymns to reinvent the language of American music. His electrified harmonica changed not only the blues but the entire sonic vocabulary of the twentieth century. From the moment he cupped a bullet microphone to his instrument, he turned breath into voltage—an act of rebellion that bridged the Delta and the modern world. This immersive biography traces his journey from dirt-road street corners to the luminous stage lights of Chicago’s South Side. Drawing on archives, ...

From the smoky clubs of Harlem to the wide beaches of Hawaii, Taj Mahal: Blues Explorer Without Borders traces the extraordinary life of one of America’s most visionary musicians. Born Henry Saint Clair Fredericks in 1942, Taj Mahal grew up surrounded by jazz, gospel, and Caribbean rhythms that would later fuse into a sound as vast as the world itself. This definitive biography follows his journey through seven decades of creative evolution—an odyssey that redefined not only the blues but the very meaning of musical heritage. Through meticulous research and vivid storytelling, the book ...

Rory Block’s story is one of devotion, endurance, and musical faith—a six-decade journey from the bohemian enclaves of Greenwich Village to the world’s blues stages. This definitive biography traces her life from a free-spirited childhood in Princeton and New York’s folk revival to her lifelong mission of preserving and renewing the Delta blues tradition. Through meticulous research and vivid narrative detail, the book captures how a young girl, inspired by encounters with Mississippi John Hurt and Son House, became one of the most authoritative interpreters of their legacy. It ...