Spain's new social economy Book

For me, this is less a book to read from front to back and more a reference work. In that frame of reference, I give it 4 stars. That said, it's a bit dry and doesn't have a lot of energy to press through to the end. The book is built around photographs and accounts of the taking of the eventful and iconic photograph—called the Big Picture in the book—by Art Kane, other photographers, and some of the participant musicians. From beginning to end, the photographs are the magnet in this book. It has, of course, the photo itself plus variants that did not make the cut to become "the" photo. The book's strength is all the beautiful and evocative black & white photographs of the day and the musicians who showed up. Biographies of every one of those in the photo also make up a valuable feature of the book. The book's reach goes beyond the day and the photograph, taking in the making of the documentary, A Great Day in Harlem (okay but a bit dated with wanting production values), a smaller gathering of the remaining musicians in 1998, and a gathering of trumpet players in New York in 1961. The power of the first photograph is shown in these spin-offs. The book closes with a large section on "The Golden Age" of jazz, including essays on Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, Lester Young, Roy Eldridge, Thelonious Monk, Coleman Hawkins, and Louis Armstrong.

The book that led me on the journey through the documentary and this title is Jazz Day by Roxane Orgill and illustrator Francis Vallejo. Of the three products, the illustrations and poetry in this children's book offer the most heart and creative reflection on the event that produced this iconic photograph.