Notes and Tones: Musician-To-Musician Interviews
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Book Overview
Notes and Tones is one of the most controversial, honest, and insightful books ever written about jazz. It consists of twenty-nine no-holds-barred conversations which drummer Arthur Taylor held with the most influential jazz musicians of the '60s and '70s-including: Art Blakey
Betty Carter
Don Cherry
Kenny Clarke
Ornette Coleman
Miles Davis
Kenny Dorham
Dizzy Gillespie
Hampton Hawes
Freddie Hubbard
Elvin Jones
Carmen McRae
Max Roach
Sonny Rollins
Nina Simone
Randy Weston As a black musician himself, Arthur Taylor was able to ask his subjects hard questions about the role of black artists in a white society. Free to speak their minds, these musicians offer startling insights into their music, their lives, and the creative process itself. This expanded edition is supplemented with previously unpublished interviews with Dexter Gordon and Thelonious Monk, a new introduction by the author, and new photographs.
Betty Carter
Don Cherry
Kenny Clarke
Ornette Coleman
Miles Davis
Kenny Dorham
Dizzy Gillespie
Hampton Hawes
Freddie Hubbard
Elvin Jones
Carmen McRae
Max Roach
Sonny Rollins
Nina Simone
Randy Weston As a black musician himself, Arthur Taylor was able to ask his subjects hard questions about the role of black artists in a white society. Free to speak their minds, these musicians offer startling insights into their music, their lives, and the creative process itself. This expanded edition is supplemented with previously unpublished interviews with Dexter Gordon and Thelonious Monk, a new introduction by the author, and new photographs.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:030680526X
ISBN13:9780306805264
Release Date:August 1993
Publisher:Da Capo
Length:320 Pages
Weight:0.84 lbs.
Dimensions:0.8" x 4.6" x 8.4"
Customer Reviews
4 ratings
Priceless view into the lives and minds of these artists
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 18 years ago
Notes and Tones is distinct in its highly synergistic dialogue. The fact that Arthur Taylor was a serious [Black] jazz drummer, with a familiar professional and personal relationship with many of the interviewees, resulted in wide ranging discussions marked by unguarded sincerity. Certain themes are touched upon numerous times [the Black Power movement & the need for jazz musicians to unite and practice cooperative economics], which while perhaps dating the book, nevertheless provide a telling contrast to the current state of affairs in the music world in general, and the social concerns of the U.S. Black community specifically. This clearly was a labor of love, and the insights shared by these iconic figures consistently inspire me to make the most of my time and efforts in whatever I'm pursuing, every time I read from the book.
A 5* classic
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 20 years ago
Simply a classic! There is no other book written on jazz that even comes close. A.T.'s questions were intelligent, pointed and insightful. I loved the interview format. It gave the musicians an even wider canvas to paint on. The no-holds-barred and candid portrait of Black life should be a book to cherish for ages to come.
Great book
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 24 years ago
A genuinely fascinating collection of interviews with some of the most important jazz figures of the 1950s-60s. (It's worth the purchase price just for the goofy, entertaining exchange with Dexter Gordon which opens the book.) Not only do you get an unusually intimate sense of what some of these brilliant musicians were/are actually like in "real life," but the book is particularly interesting--and frank--about the subject of race, in the jazz world and beyond. If you love jazz, don't miss this book.
A classic for the mind, body and spirit
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 24 years ago
Arthur Taylor, a most creative source of a force in the drumming world, has created a moving, startling, and lovely group of interviews of some of the most influential artists in jazz (Black Classical) music. Giants like; Thelonious Monk, Erroll Garner, Elvin Jones, Nina Simone, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie and so many others paint images of pointedness, beauty, intellect and feeling. The reader really gets an insight into the personalities and lives of these wonderful people that are the lineage of the only true American art form. I really recomend the book to anyone, from the person who has had one passing thought about jazz artists to those who dedicate their life to the art form, or any artform. This is, as they say, the real deal. I am humbled by Mr. Taylor's wonderful work and, in my own way, feel love for each of the unique artists that he interviews. Thank You Arthur!
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