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UnderratedReads is devoted to discovering underrated books and under-represented authors. We highlight hidden gems from around the world–honest reviews only, never pay-to-play.
Tag Archives: jazz
The Bolden Cylinder A Bruneau Abellard Novel – Norman Woolworth
(Reviewed by JD Jung) I was excited to read The Bolden Cylinder because of its promise of jazz and its New Orleans setting—two of my favorite things. What I got was so much more: a richly layered mystery involving arson, … Continue reading
Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers
Tagged friendship, history, jazz, New Orleans
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But Not for Me – Allison A. Davis
(Reviewed by JD Jung) It’s August 1958 and black renters, homeowners and business owners are getting kicked out of the Fillmore district of San Francisco due to redevelopment and urban renewal. Developers are using unfair tactics to enforce eminent domain. … Continue reading
Posted in Historical Fiction
Tagged beat generation, corruption, Crime, jazz, justice, Mafia, racism, San Francisco
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The Notebooks of Sonny Rollins -Sonny Rollins, Sam V.H. Reese (Editor, Introduction)
(Reviewed by JD Jung) In 1959, twenty-eight-year-old tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins disappeared for two years with the purpose of practicing and improving his craft. He wrote down his thoughts on technical aspects of the saxophone, “rethinking musical concepts”, as well … Continue reading
Posted in Bios and Memoirs, Non-fiction
Tagged jazz, music
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An Exceptional UnderratedRead Revisited: The Dying Crapshooter’s Blues- David Fulmer
(Reviewed by JD Jung) Atlanta, 1923: In the midst of Prohibition, the city is seething with corruption, bootlegging, narcotics, gambling, and counterfeiting scams. This would seem the perfect scenario for Joe “Indian Joe” Rose to drift into town, as … Continue reading
Posted in Revisited
Tagged blues, crime fiction, Historical fiction, jazz
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An UnderratedRead Revisited: Five Night Stand – Richard J. Alley
(Reviewed by JD Jung) #CommissionsEarned “There are four people as similar as they are unique—one at the end of his career, one lost in the middle, one who dreams of beginning, and the fourth, a child, not knowing what is … Continue reading
An UnderratedRead Revisited: Coming Through Slaughter – Michael Ondaatje
(Reviewed by JD Jung) “…and you like a weather bird arcing round in the middle of your life to exact opposites and burning your brains out so that from June 5 1907 till 1931 you were dropped into amber in … Continue reading
Posted in Revisited
Tagged Buddy Bolden, Historical fiction, jazz, New Orleans
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An UnderratedRead Revisited: Five Night Stand – Richard J. Alley
(Reviewed by JD Jung) “There are four people as similar as they are unique—one at the end of his career, one lost in the middle, one who dreams of beginning, and the fourth, a child, not knowing what is ahead … Continue reading
Posted in Revisited
Tagged Historical fiction, jazz
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An UnderratedRead Revisited: The Dying Crapshooter’s Blues – David Fulmer
(Reviewed by JD Jung) Atlanta, 1923: In the midst of Prohibition, the city is seething with corruption, bootlegging, narcotics, gambling, and counterfeiting scams. This would seem the perfect scenario for Joe “Indian Joe” Rose to drift into town, as he … Continue reading
Posted in Revisited
Tagged crime fiction, Historical fiction, jazz
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The Ghetto Swinger: A Berlin Jazz-Legend Remembers – Coco Schumann (Author), John Howard (Translator)
(Reviewed by JD Jung) “I am a musician, a musician who was imprisoned in a concentration camp, not a concentration camp inmate who also plays some music. The camps and the fear fundamentally changed my life, but it was … Continue reading
Posted in Bios and Memoirs, Music inspired, Reviewers' Top Picks
Tagged anti-antisemitism, Berlin, Germany, jazz, music, Nazism
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The Axeman – Ray Celestin
(Reviewed by JD Jung) The following was submitted to the Times-Picayune on May 6, 1919. “…I am not a human being, but a spirit and a demon from the hottest hell. I am what you Orleanians and your foolish police … Continue reading
Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers, Historical Fiction, Music inspired
Tagged Axeman, Historical fiction, jazz, New Orleans
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