Reviews for Giants of jazz

The average rating for Giants of jazz based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2009-10-10 00:00:00 Patricia Lesniak This is the first book of Terkel's I've read, as well as his first book. It's a model of clear and effective writing and a loving and reverent portrayal of 13 great jazz musicians. (I admit I skipped the chapter about Woody Herman, since I've never listened to much of his stuff.) The writing level would probably suit a middle-schooler just fine, but that's no insult. In fact, the simplicity of the writing and the relative absence of complicated musicology would make this an excellent read for even the most casual jazz fan, which can't be said of some other books about jazz. The profiles are not overloaded with biographical detail. Terkel breezes through their lives with a remarkably light touch, in each case covering many years in surprisingly few pages but always seeming to hit the important notes. Terkel illustrates several key points worth remembering about jazz: that it's a music of the people, that came from the people (is this at all the case today? a question worth considering more deeply at some point); that its innovators were truly courageous in pursuing their visions and did not always meet with immediate success (a worthwhile reminder for anyone following a creative pursuit); and that jazz's greatest musicians became such thanks in part to a diet of steady encouragement from the larger jazz community. It's heartwarming to read of the friendships the musicians forged and of their passion for what they created. I found the book's only weakness to be that the final two profiles, about Charlie Parker and John Coltrane, felt somewhat thinner than the rest. Perhaps this was because Coltrane charted such a different path from the other figures (who range chronologically from King Oliver to Charlie Parker), and at the time Terkel was writing, maybe listeners and critics had not yet come to terms with Coltrane. (Maybe they still haven't.) It might also be that Terkel didn't speak directly with Coltrane. (The book's sourcing is unclear--it's hard to tell when Terkel had actually spoken with the musicians, and when he might have been imagining the details of their childhoods that he relates.) But that's a minor shortcoming when compared with the book's overall accomplishments.

Review # 2 was written on 2013-04-28 00:00:00 Gary Stewart My daughter brought this book home from the library. She found it in the adult non-fiction section, although it is labelled as young adult on a sticker. I'd firmly place this in the YA camp. I actually found the writing annoying. The style I would label as "Fifties Filmstrip", as it sounds like it could have been the narration beside one of those filmstrips I saw back in elementary school. Most every story has at its heart a Horatio Alger turn - the artist makes it through obstacles from when they were kids. It was interesting to see Terkel make the case, time and again, that these artists fought to do their music their way. The other theme he repeatedly played was that the artists, and other jazz artists they work with, are always thinking. He doesn't say they are smart, but they are always thinking and figuring out how to play new ways. Given that this felt aimed at kids, the repetition and the focus on thinking to be creative is a good story -- I'd give it higher marks for that audience.