Reviews for Spain's new social economy

The average rating for Spain's new social economy based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2021-03-20 00:00:00 Luis Lebron This book is about a renowned photograph of 57 jazz musicians in front of a brownstone in Harlem on a Saturday morning in 1958. There are some famous (and not so famous) musicians in this photo. Some of the biggest names are missing - Louis Armstrong (who was on tour), Duke Ellington, and Billie Holiday (who is not mentioned in this book). Given the lifestyle of jazz musicians it is amazing that so many showed up for the 10:00 AM photo session. That time of day for a jazz musician would be like 4:00 AM for us normal folks! The author explains how the photo shoot developed. Phone calls were made and notices posted at various jazz clubs through-out New York City for any and all musicians to show up at the designated address in Harlem. Many had not seen each other for years. There are several neat photos in this book of interest to any jazz aficionado. Some of the stories and biographies of the musicians are very good (Dizzy Gillespie, Lester Young, Charlie (Bird) Parker), but others are geared too much for a music student and/or have a lot of name-dropping.

Review # 2 was written on 2016-09-21 00:00:00 Amanda Evans 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.