Tag Archives: music
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
Comments Off on The Notebooks of Sonny Rollins -Sonny Rollins, Sam V.H. Reese (Editor, Introduction)
An UnderratedRead Revisited: I Buried Paul – Bruce Ferber
(Reviewed by Don Jung) #CommissionsEarned This is the story of forty-nine-year-old Jimmy Koslowski and his uncertain life as a struggling musician. It starts off with his family, where his father is an orchestra leader, and his older brother is a … Continue reading
Posted in Revisited
Tagged Beatles, music, rock music
Comments Off on An UnderratedRead Revisited: I Buried Paul – Bruce Ferber
An UnderratedRead Revisited : Songs by Honeybird: Peter McDade
(Reviewed by Pat Luboff) #CommissionsEarned “Find your focus and the story may write itself: music and drugs, race and gender, a tragic barn fire and a missing body. It’s all much more dramatic than one usually sees in a dissertation….” … Continue reading
Posted in Revisited
Tagged friendship, history, music, philosophy, sexism
Comments Off on An UnderratedRead Revisited : Songs by Honeybird: Peter McDade
Song Noir: Tom Waits and the Spirit of Los Angeles – Alex Harvey
(Reviewed by JD Jung) #CommissionsEarned My first introduction to Tom Waits was in Jim Jarmusch’s 1985 film, “Down By Law”. I found him quite enigmatic, and as a singer/songwriter was drawn to his authenticity. While reading Song Noir, I realized … Continue reading
Posted in Bios and Memoirs, Culture, History
Tagged beat generation, film noir, Los Angeles, music, songwriting
Comments Off on Song Noir: Tom Waits and the Spirit of Los Angeles – Alex Harvey
I Buried Paul: A Novel: Bruce Ferber
(Reviewed by Don Jung) #CommissionsEarned This is the story of forty-nine-year-old Jimmy Koslowski and his uncertain life as a struggling musician. It starts off with his family, where his father is an orchestra leader, and his older brother is a … Continue reading
Posted in Modern Literary Fiction, Our Best
Tagged Beatles, music, rock music
Comments Off on I Buried Paul: A Novel: Bruce Ferber
Songs by Honeybird – Peter McDade
(Reviewed by Pat Luboff) #CommissionsEarned “Find your focus and the story may write itself: music and drugs, race and gender, a tragic barn fire and a missing body. It’s all much more dramatic than one usually sees in a dissertation….” … Continue reading
Posted in Modern Literary Fiction, Our Best, Romance
Tagged friendship, history, music, philosophy, Romance, sexism
Comments Off on Songs by Honeybird – Peter McDade
Sins in Blue – Brian Kaufman
(Reviewed by Don Jung) “Audiences like their blues singers to be miserable,” said Janis Joplin. Sins in Blue is a story of an unhappy bluesman who is rediscovered by a young college student trying to revive his career. Willie Johnson … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Historical Fiction, Jazz & Blues
Tagged blues, depression-era, music
Comments Off on Sins in Blue – Brian Kaufman
Everybody Wins (Except for the Losers): A Record Store Day Story – Steve Murphy
(Reviewed by Don Jung) In this digital age, you would think that record stores are a thing of the past. But this particular record store is full of passionate employees who love what they do. After all, their world revolves … Continue reading
Posted in Humor & Satire, Modern Literary Fiction, Skinny reads
Tagged dark humor, music, novella, vinyl records
Comments Off on Everybody Wins (Except for the Losers): A Record Store Day Story – Steve Murphy
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 shaped … Continue reading
Posted in Bios and Memoirs, Jazz & Blues, Non-fiction, Our Best, WWII
Tagged anti-antisemitism, Berlin, Germany, jazz, music, Nazism
Comments Off on The Ghetto Swinger: A Berlin Jazz-Legend Remembers – Coco Schumann (Author), John Howard (Translator)
Jimmy Buffett: A Good Life All the Way – Ryan White
(Reviewed by Don Jung) There are so many interesting tidbits in this book about the life of Jimmy Buffett, but it is different than most biographies. It’s written by an outsider who has been fascinated by this man, since both … Continue reading
Posted in Bios and Memoirs
Tagged Jimmy Buffett, Margaritaville, music, sailing
Comments Off on Jimmy Buffett: A Good Life All the Way – Ryan White
