Tchaikovsky
This very distinctive new work on Tchaikovsky uniquely combines a lively biography of one of the best-loved composers of the nineteenth century with a chronological guide to his music, from the popular ballets and concertos to lesser-known pieces. Brown enthusiastically and sensitively guides the reader with writing that is both accessible and informative. This is essential reading for anyone with an interest in Tchaikovsky, his music and the culture of his time.
A History of the Holy Eastern Church
A detailed history of the most ancient Patriarchate of Antioch by a leading scholar of the Eastern Church, published posthumously. Covering the Byzantine right of the Patriarchate, the book also includes The Memoirs of the Patriarchs of Antioch.
Comfortably Numb
The acclaimed, definitive biography of Pink Floyd, from their iconic beginnings in psychedelic, Swinging London to their historic reunion at the Live8 concert ("The most complete, insightful, and current account of Pink Floyd...nearly as essential as the music itself."--Austin Chronicle)Mark Blake draws on his own interviews with band members as well as the group's friends, road crew, musical contemporaries, former housemates, and university colleagues to produce a riveting history of one of the biggest rock bands of all time. We follow Pink Floyd from the early psychedelic nights at UFO, to the stadium-rock and concept-album zenith of the seventies, to the acrimonious schisms of the late '80s and '90s. Along the way there are fascinating new revelations about Syd Barrett's chaotic life at the time of Piper at the Gates of Dawn, the band's painstaking and Byzantine recording sessions at Abbey Road, and the fractious negotiations to bring about their fragile, tantalizing reunion in Hyde Park. Meticulous, exacting, and ambitious as any Pink Floyd album, Comfortably Numb is the definitive account of this most adventurous--and most English--rock band.
Menahem Pressler
As soloist, master class teacher, and pianist of the world-renowned Beaux Arts Trio, Menahem Pressler can boast of four Grammy nominations, three honorary doctorates, more than 80 recordings, and lifetime achievement awards presented by France, Germany, and Israel. Former Pressler student William Brown traces the master's pianistic development through Rudiakov, Kestenberg, Vengerova, Casadesus, Petri, and Steuermann, blending techniques and traditions derived from Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, and J. S. Bach. Brown presents Pressler's approach to performance and teaching, including technical exercises, principles of relaxation and total body involvement, and images to guide the pianist's creativity toward expressive interpretation. Insights from the author's own lessons, interviews with Pressler, and recollections of more than 100 Pressler students from the past 50 years are gathered in this text. Measure-by-measure lessons on 23 piano masterworks by, among others, Bach, Bart籀k, Debussy, and Ravel as well as transcriptions of Pressler's fingerings, hand redistributions, practicing guidelines, musical scores, and master class performances are included.
Coltrane
John Coltrane left an indelible mark on the world, but what was the essence of his achievement that makes him so prized forty years after his death? What were the factors that helped Coltrane become who he was? And what would a John Coltrane look like now--or are we looking for the wrong signs? In this deftly written, riveting study, New York Times jazz critic Ben Ratliff answers these questions and examines the life of Coltrane, the acclaimed band leader and deeply spiritual man who changed the face of jazz music. Ratliff places jazz among other art forms and within the turbulence of American social history, and he places Coltrane not just among jazz musicians but among the greatest American artists.
The Jazz Singers
The Jazz Singers is an overview of the great vocalists who have sung jazz. In addition to covering the key singers from the past, Scott Yanow puts a strong emphasis on the current jazz scene where there are scores of talented vocalists. By drawing on original interviews conducted exclusively for this book, along with Yanow's extensive knowledge, The Jazz Singers offers fresh and insightful information in its 521 main entries. Other features include a historical overview, a section on Jazz Vocal Groups, and a comprehensive list of Jazz in Film. This definitive history, covering the years from 1911 to 2007, will be a valuable resource and an enjoyable read for decades to come.
How Equal Temperament Ruined Harmony
What if Bach and Mozart heard richer, more dramatic chords than we hear in music today? What sonorities and moods have we lost in playing music in "equal temperament"--the equal division of the octave into twelve notes that has become our standard tuning method? Thanks to How Equal Temperament Ruined Harmony, "we may soon be able to hear for ourselves what Beethoven really meant when he called B minor 'black'" (Wall Street Journal).In this "comprehensive plea for more variety in tuning methods" (Kirkus Reviews), Ross W. Duffin presents "a serious and well-argued case" (Goldberg Magazine) that "should make any contemporary musician think differently about tuning" (Saturday Guardian).
Let's Spend the Night Together
Since rock's beginnings, there have been groupies. These chosen few women who bed, but not often wed, the musicians of their dreams are almost as much a part of music history as the musicians themselves. Pamela Des Barres, the world's foremost supergroupie, here offers an all-access backstage pass to the world of rock stars and the women who love them. Having had her own affairs with legends such as Keith Moon and Jimmy Page--as documented in her bestselling memoir I'm with the Band--Pamela now turns the spotlight onto other women who have found their way into the hearts and bedrooms of some of the world's greatest musicians. In Let's Spend the Night Together, she tells, in their own words, the stories of these amazing women who went way beyond the one-night stand. Here you'll get to know 24 outrageous groupies, including - Tura Satana, Miss Japan Beautiful, who taught Elvis how to dance and gave him lessons in lovemaking - Cassandra Peterson, aka Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, who tangled with Tom Jones in Sin City - Soulful Miss Mercy, who discovered that not only does the rest of the world listen to Al Green while making love--so does Al Green - Cynthia Plaster Caster, who redefined art and made history when Jimi Hendrix plunged his member into her plaster mold - The mysterious Miss B, who reveals Kurt Cobain's penchant for lip gloss and pantyhose - and over a dozen more
Tchaikovsky
Yet Dr. Brown observes, it is during this period that Tchaikovsky is perhaps at his most exposed: in his responses to ordinary situations we can most clearly see his idiosyncrasies and rapidly changing moods, his likes and dislikes, his kindness and compassion, his openhanded generosity and calculating deviousness, his gentle but constant envy of those whose sexual nature permitted them the experience of normal family life.Musically, these were the years of The Maid of Orl矇ans and Mazepa, the second piano concerto, the three orchestral suites, the piano trio, the Italian Capriccio and the Manfred symphony. Once again a most valuable feature of this critical biography is Dr. Brown's detailed exposition and analysis of each of the new compositions.And on the human side the book is wholly absorbing. Once again, too, Dr. Brown has been able to draw upon the fullest text ever published of some of Tchaikovsky's particularly revealing letters, suppressed before publication in the Soviet Union but recently smuggled out of Russia.
Tchaikovsky
In the opening chapters he approaches the central crisis of his whole existence: his marriage to Antonina Milyukova. The marriage was a desperate gesture, a hopeless attempt to balance, or at least disguise, his strongly homosexual nature. But only five days after the wedding he wrote to his brother Anatoly, "Physically my wife has become totally repugnant to me." David Brown has had access to some of Tchaikovsky's most revealing letters; they were printed in Russia in 1940, but suppressed before publication, and in 1979, one of the few surviving copies was smuggled out of the country.Dr. Brown also provides a fascinating picture of the composer's long and strange relationship with his benefactress, Mrs. von Meck. By mutual agreement, they never met, yet their friendship produced a prodigious and often passionately expressed correspondence.This was the period of some of Tchaikovsky's masterpieces: the first piano concerto, Swan Lake, the fourth symphony, Eugene Onegin, Francesca de Rimini, and the violin concerto. The book is at least as important a contribution to musical scholarship as to biography.As biography, it is steadily absorbing in its portrayal of a man and an artist striving to keep the creative spark alive, often overcome by melancholy, fleeing from one part of Europe to another, but always breaking through to new triumphs. Unquestionably, this is going to be the definitive work on Tchaikovsky in English for many years to come.
Microlatin
(BH Piano). 20 piano miniatures which introduce beginner/intermediate-level pianists to Latin American musical styles. Play along with the backing CD, or listen to the composer's own vibrant performances.
The Greek Fiddler
(Boosey & Hawkes Chamber Music). The latest addition to the best-selling Fiddler series focuses on the rich, diverse and pure folk tradition of Greece. A wide variety of styles is presented, featuring music from Crete, the Peloponnese, the Balkans, Asia Minor and mainland Greece. Exciting rhythms and interesting modes combine to produce high spirited pieces, some of which will already be familiar to lovers of Greek culture world-wide. Flexible arrangements for violin and piano with optional easy violin, violin accompaniment, and chord symbols. Includes 17 pieces.
Divas and Scholars
Winner of the 2007 Otto Kinkeldey Award from the American Musicological Society and the 2007 Deems Taylor Award from the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers. Divas and Scholars is a dazzling and beguiling account of how opera comes to the stage, filled with Philip Gossett's personal experiences of triumphant-and even failed-performances and suffused with his towering and tonic passion for music. Writing as a fan, a musician, and a scholar, Gossett, the world's leading authority on the performance of Italian opera, brings colorfully to life the problems, and occasionally the scandals, that attend the production of some of our most favorite operas. Gossett begins by tracing the social history of nineteenth-century Italian theaters in order to explain the nature of the musical scores from which performers have long worked. He then illuminates the often hidden but crucial negotiations opera scholars and opera conductors and performers: What does it mean to talk about performing from a critical edition? How does one determine what music to perform when multiple versions of an opera exist? What are the implications of omitting passages from an opera in a performance? In addition to vexing questions such as these, Gossett also tackles issues of ornamentation and transposition in vocal style, the matters of translation and adaptation, and even aspects of stage direction and set design. Throughout this extensive and passionate work, Gossett enlivens his history with reports from his own experiences with major opera companies at venues ranging from the Metropolitan and Santa Fe operas to the Rossini Opera Festival at Pesaro. The result is a book that will enthrall both aficionados of Italian opera and newcomers seeking a reliable introduction to it-in all its incomparable grandeur and timeless allure.
Konpa Encyclopedia
The Konpa Encyclopedia is a reference book that covers the history of Konpa music. Readers will learn how the Konpa music started in 1955, the meaning of the word "KONPA", how Nemours Jean Baptiste created the formula, and the uniqueness of this genre of music. The book will help you discover the great work of the Haitian musicians from the 1950s to this date. If you are interested in knowing more about Konpa music, one of the most popular styles of music of the Caribbean, the "Konpa Encyclopedia" is a book that you must have in your collection.
Haunted Heart
"In this comprehensive biography, compiled from meticulous research and interviews with many of McCorkle's confidants . . . Dahl reconstructs a career distinguished by great promise and great sadness . . . doing her best to address a large, looming 'Why?' that can never be completely answered."--New York Times"A compelling, sympathetic but often chilling view not only of McCorkle's complexities but also of the difficult business of music itself and of the widespread always potentially fatal illness now better known as bipolar disorder, which the singer hid from so many, even from herself for many years."--Newsweek"Susannah's life was dark and daunting. Her music was suave and sunny. Both are honored in this remarkably well-researched and constantly revealing keyhole peek into a haunted life that is both chilling and exhilarating. I could not put it down."--Rex Reed"Susannah McCorkle was a mesmerizing singer with a dark side she hid even from her closest friends. Now, thanks to this probing and courageous biography, we can understand the gut ambition that took her to the top of her field and the turmoil that brought her down."--James Gavin, author of Deep in a Dream: The Long Night of Chet Baker"Haunted Heart strikingly resembles the woman it describes: it is vivacious, tender, saturnine, industrious, and deeply intelligent. Like Susannah's way with certain ballads, it opens a wound and begins the work of healing it. I am grateful for Linda Dahl's diligence and sympathy."--Leon WieseltierLinda Dahl is the author of Stormy Weather: The Music and Lives of a Century of Jazzwomen and Morning Glory: A Biography of Mary Lou Williams. Visit the author's website at www.dahljazz.com.
The Book of Salsa
Salsa is one of the most popular types of music listened to and danced to in the United States. Until now, the single comprehensive history of the music -- and the industry that grew up around it, including musicians, performances, styles, movements, and production -- was available only in Spanish. This lively translation provides for English-reading and music-loving fans the chance to enjoy C矇sar Miguel Rond籀n's celebrated El libro de la salsa.Rond籀n tells the engaging story of salsa's roots in Puerto Rico, Cuba, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Venezuela, and of its emergence and development in the 1960s as a distinct musical movement in New York. Rond籀n presents salsa as a truly pan-Caribbean phenomenon, emerging in the migrations and interactions, the celebrations and conflicts that marked the region. Although salsa is rooted in urban culture, Rond籀n explains, it is also a commercial product produced and shaped by professional musicians, record producers, and the music industry. For this first English-language edition, Rond籀n has added a new chapter to bring the story of salsa up to the present.
Keeping the Beat on the Street
Told in the words of the musicians themselves, Keeping the Beat on the Street celebrates the renewed passion and pageantry among black brass bands in New Orleans. Mick Burns introduces the people who play the music and shares their insights, showing why New Orleans is the place where jazz continues to grow. Brass bands waned during the civil rights era but revived around 1970 and then flourished in the 1980s when the music became cool with the younger generation. In the only book to cover this revival, Burns interviews members from a variety of bands, including the Fairview Baptist Church Brass Band, the Dirty Dozen, Tuba Fats' Chosen Few, and the Rebirth Brass Band. He captures their thoughts about the music, their careers, audiences, influences from rap and hip-hop, the resurgence of New Orleans social and pleasure clubs and second lines, traditional versus funk style, recording deals, and touring. For anyone who loves jazz and the city where it was born, Keeping the Beat on the Street is a book to savor. "We should be grateful to Mick Burns for undertaking the task of producing... the only book to cover the subject of what he rightly calls the brass band renaissance." -- New Orleans Music"A welcome look at the history of brass bands. These oral histories provide a valuable contribution to New Orleans musical history.... What shines through the musicians' words is love of craft, love of culture." -- New Orleans Times-Picayune "A seminal work about the Brass Bands of New Orleans." -- Louisiana Libraries
Miles Davis, Miles Smiles, and the Invention of Post Bop
Focusing on one of the legendary musicians in jazz, this book examines Miles Davis's often overlooked music of the mid-1960s with a close examination of the evolution of a new style: post bop. Jeremy Yudkin traces Davis's life and work during a period when the trumpeter was struggling with personal and musical challenges only to emerge once again as the artistic leader of his generation.A major force in post-war American jazz, Miles Davis was a pioneer of cool jazz, hard bop, and modal jazz in a variety of small group formats. The formation in the mid-1960s of the Second Quintet with Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams was vital to the invention of the new post bop style. Yudkin illustrates and precisely defines this style with an analysis of the 1966 classic Miles Smiles.
A Child of Our Time
(Study Score). This oratorio was Tippett's artistic and emotional response to the events that led to the "Kristallnacht" pogrom of November 1938. Tippett used as his formal and historical models the Bach Passions and Handel's Messiah. Tippett's use of the spiritual serves as equivalent for the Lutheran chorale of Bach's time. By 1941, when Tippett had completed the composition of his oratorio, the practicalities of staging a performance during wartime were difficult to say the least. However, through the direct agency of his lifelong friends and professional colleagues, Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears, the work was performed in 1944, with Pears himself as tenor soloist.
Let's Talk About Love
Non-fans regard C矇line Dion as ersatz and plastic, yet to those who love her, no one could be more real, with her impoverished childhood, her (creepy) manager-husband's struggle with cancer, her knack for howling out raw emotion. There's nothing cool about C矇line Dion, and nothing clever. That's part of her appeal as an object of love or hatred - with most critics and committed music fans taking pleasure (or at least geeky solace) in their lofty contempt. This book documents Carl Wilson's brave and unprecedented year-long quest to find his inner C矇line Dion fan, and explores how we define ourselves in the light of what we call good and bad, what we love and what we hate.
Nobody Likes You
The full story of the rise and spectacular comeback of the band hailed as the saviors of punk rock. It's hard to believe that in early 2004 Green Day was considered over -- the band was still together, but they were dismissed as a strictly '90s phenomenon, incapable of re-creating the success of their groundbreaking album Dookie. Then American Idiot debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts, stayed on the charts for nearly 18 months, and went on to sell more than four million records and to win the Grammy for Record of the Year for "Boulevard of Broken Dreams." Combining unique access to Green Day with a seasoned journalists nose for a great story, Marc Spitz gives the complete account of the band, from their earliest days to their most recent explosion of popularity and critical acclaim. Foremost, Nobody Likes You is a story of friendship and the transporting power of playing very loud music. It is the story of how high school dropout Billie Joe Armstrong came to write song lyrics that inflamed the political conscience of fans in a way that two Yale graduates couldn't. Green Days story -- from rise, to fall, to rise again -- has never been fully told.
The House That Trane Built
Noted jazz author Ashley Kahn brings to life the behind-the-scenes story of Impulse Records, one of the most significant record labels in the history of popular music. "Kahn mingles engaging stories of corporate politics with insider accounts of music-making and anecdotal takes on particular albums. His history of Impulse is also the story of the genesis of an American art form and the evolution of the record industry through the tumultuous 1960s--and will compel readers to seek out this label's masterful albums," says Publishers Weekly in a starred review. Kirkus Reviews calls the book "a swinging read," adding that "Kahn covers all the aesthetic, business, social, and historical bases with crisp economy." Don't miss the exciting inside scoop behind some of the most enduring masterpieces of jazz!
Notorious C.O.P.
As head of the first special force unit devoted exclusively to the investigation of hip-hop crime, first-grade detective Derrick Parker worked on some of the biggest criminal cases in rap history. From the shooting at Club New York to the murder of Tupac Shakur, Derrick was on the inside of hip-hop's most notorious crimes. Always straddling the fence between "po-po" and NYPD outsider, Derrick threatened police tradition to try and get the cases solved. He was the first New York detective on the Biggie Smalls' murder and discovered shocking and never-before-revealed information from an unlikely informant. He protected one of the only surviving eyewitnesses to the Jam Master Jay murder and knows the identity of the killers as well as the motivation behind the shooting. Notorious C.O.P. reveals hip-hop crimes that never made the paper--like the robbing of Foxy Brown and the first Hot 97 shooting--and answers some lingering questions about murders that have remained unsolved. The book that both the NYPD and the hip-hop community don't want you to read, Notorious C.O.P. is the first insider look at the real links between crime and hip-hop and the inefficiencies that have left some of the most widely publicized murders in entertainment history unsolved.
Kate Bush and Hounds of Love
Kate Bush is widely respected as one of the most unique solo female performers to have ever emerged in the field of popular music. She has achieved that rare combination of great commercial success and critical acclaim, with Hounds of Love considered widely to be her masterpiece. The album regularly features in 'best album' lists, and in the 2004 Observer poll was the highest placed work by a solo female artist. The album allows the author, Ron Moy, the critical opportunity to explore a wide range of issues relating to technology, production, authorship, grain of the voice, iconography, critical and commercial impact, collaboration, gender, sexuality, narrative, and social and cultural context.
Compendium of over 2000 Jazz Pianists
... over 2000 jazz pianists listing the title of album or CD ... introducing you to the great and the unknown jazz pianists ... discography of the amazing Bernard Peiffer and Jessica Williams ... information on cdbaby ... great for collectors and musicians searching out new artists ... links to important sites ... if you enjoy piano jazz, this is a must for your library ---------------Book Reviews ------------ This Compendium is actually an excellent database source guide that can empower fans, club owners and contemporary jazz pianists in instantaneously expanding the universe of researchable jazz pianists to more than 2,000. There's the added bonus of the complete discographies of two very special jazz artists, plus the author's fascinating detail recounting of the poignant impact one of them had in inspiring him to spend incalculable hours as a labor of love over the span of several years in compiling the book's database. - Fred - Database Source Guide October 6, 2011 Mr Arnie Fox collected great names of jazz, musiciansthat did enourmous contribuition to the jazz musicwhat turn this book a "must have" reference for anyone thatwant to know about Jazz musical history and who made history ! For my side I feel honored to have cited, with my cd"Spanish Songs for Millions" (available on cdbaby website)[..] - Guilherme Schroeter: A great book January 24, 2011
West Side Story
(Instrumental). This suite for violin and piano features Raimundo Penaforte's elaborate concert arrangements for advanced players of "I Feel Pretty," "Somewhere" and "America."
Stranded
In 1978, Greil Marcus asked twenty other writers on rock -- including Dave Marsh, Lester Bangs, Nick Tosches, Ellen Willis, Simon Frith, and Robert Christgau -- a question: What one rock and roll album would you take to a desert island? The resulting essays were collected in Stranded, twenty passionate declarations that, appropriately, affirmed the solitary and obsessive activity that rock listening had become. Here are salutes, elegies, thank-you notes, and love letters to records such as the Rolling Stones' Beggars Banquet, the Ramones' Rocket to Russia, Captain Beefheart's Trout Mask Replica, Something Else By the Kinks, and out-of-print classics by the Ronettes, Little Willie John, and Huey 'Piano' Smith; the whole is supplemented with Marcus's own invaluable annotated fifty-page discography, a "Treasure Island" of rock and roll. Stranded remains a classic of rock and roll literature, and perhaps the best possible answer to the question: What one rock and roll book would you take to a desert island?
Kind of Blue
Jazz musicians call it The Bible. Critics call it the one jazz album every fan must own. Forty-one years since its recording in 1959, it has sold millions worldwide and sits near the top of any list of most important records of the century. How did two impromptu sessions produce such a timeless acknowledged masterpiece? Now, for the first time, Ashley Kahn takes us into the studio to witness the creation of an album that still thrills jazz musicians, enthusiasts, and newcomers alike with its deceptively simple tunes. Using eyewitness accounts and newly discovered documents, Kahn traces Miles's move from bop to modal jazz, re-creates the sessions using master tapes (weighing in on fragmentary takes and the dispute about composers), and follows the rise of the album from its contemporary reception to its transformation into a cultural landmark through conversations with those who were there. Extensively researched and copiously illustrated, Kind of Blue recovers an invaluable piece of musical history and heightens fans' appreciation of the album they know and love.New and never-before-published material in Kind of Blue includes: The complete, unedited master session tapes, with analysis of fragmentary takes that have never been released, and studio dialogue between Davis and the musicians Over forty new interviews with musicians, producers, and critics, including Herbie Hancock, Elvin Jones, Quincy Troupe, George Avakian, Nat Hentoff-and the only people still living who witnessed the making of the album: Jimmy Cobb, engineer Bob Waller, and photographer Don Hunstein Previously unpublished photos of the recording session, featuring a rare shot of Miles's charts Studio logs and internal memos from Columbia about the making and marketing of the album The handwritten version of Bill Evans's famous liner notes
The Clarinet Collection
(Woodwind Solo). Solos appropriate for advanced high school students or college music majors, this collection presents staples of the standard clarinet literature. This book also includes access to online recordings of performances and piano accompaniments. Contents: Adagio from the Clarinet Quintet, Op. 23 (Baermann) * Allegro appassionato from the Sonata No. 1 for Clarinet and Piano, Op. 120, No. 1 (Brahms) * Premiere Rhapsodie (Debussy) * Con moto from the Sonatina for Clarinet and Piano (Heiden) * Rondo from the Concerto in A Major, KV 622 (Mozart) * Fantasy Pieces (Phantasiestucke) (Schumann) * Adagio from the Clarinet Concerto No. 1 in C minor, Op. 26 (Spohr) * Adagio from the Clarinet Concerto in B-flat Major (Stamitz0 * Allegro moderato from the Clarinet Concerto No. 1 in F minor, Op. 73 (J. 114) (Weber) Audio is accessed online using the unique code inside the book and can be streamed or downloaded. The audio files include PLAYBACK+, a multi-functional audio player that allows you to slow down audio without changing pitch, set loop points, change keys, and pan left or right.
The Clarinet Collection
(Woodwind Solo). Attractive solo literature for the intermediate level student. Contents: Allegro from the Trio Sonata in E-flat Major, BWV 525 (J.S. Bach) * Sinfonia from Cantata 156 (J.S. Bach) * Bagatelle, Op. 119, No. 11 (Beethoven) * Molly on the Shore (Grainger) * Song of the Dawn from Suite Miniature (Gretchaninov) * Hallucination from Suite Miniature (Gretchaninov) * The Easy Winners (Joplin) * Allegro moderato from the Clarinet Sonata in E-flat Major (Mendelssohn) * Swinging from Ten Pieces for Clarinet and Piano, Op. 37, No. 3 (Moyse) * Trio from the Quintet for Clarinet and Strings, KV 581 (Mozart) * Allegretto from the Sonate, Op. 167 (Saint-Saens) * Andante Theme from the Octet, D. 166 (Schubert) * Romance from the Clarinet Concerto No.3 in E-flat Major (Stamitz). Book includes online access to download or stream full performance recordings and piano accompaniment tracks. Online audio is accessed at halleonard.com/mylibrary.
Hotel California
Hoskyns brings a genuine love as well as an outsider's keen eye to the rise and fall of the California scene. . . . This is a riveting story, sensitively told.-Anthony DeCurtis, Contributing Editor, Rolling StoneFrom enduring musical achievements to drug-fueled chaos and bed-hopping antics, the L.A. pop music scene in the sixties and seventies was like no other, and journalist Barney Hoskyns re-creates all the excitement and mayhem. Hotel California brings to life the genesis of Crosby, Stills, and Nash at Joni Mitchell's house; the Eagles' backstage fistfights after the success of ""Hotel California""; the drama of David Geffen and the other money men who transformed the L.A. music scene; and more.
Jazz Suite for Horn Quartet and Rhythm Section
(Richmond Music Instrumental). Alec Wilder's "Jazz Suite" for horn quartet, harpsichord, guitar bass and drums with four movements: Horns O'Plenty, Conversation Piece, Serenade, and Horn Belt Boogie. This suite was composed in 1951 at the instigation of Mitch Miller, a longtime friend of Wilder's and then the Head of Popular Music at Columbia Records.
Jimmie Rodgers
The definitive biography of the "Father of Country Music" Jimmie Rodgers (1897-1933), the first performer elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame, was a folk hero in his own lifetime and has been idolized by fans and emulated by performers ever since. His life story has been particularly susceptible to romanticizing, marked as it was by humble origins, sudden success and fame, and an early death from tuberculosis. Nolan Porterfield's biography banishes the rumors and myths that have long shrouded the Blue Yodeler's life story. Unlike previous writings about Rodgers, Porterfield's book derives from extensive and detailed research into original sources: private letters, personal interviews, court records, and newspaper accounts. Jimmie Rodgers significantly expands and alters our knowledge of the entertainer's life and career, explaining the nature of his role in American culture of the Depression era and providing insightful background on the milieu in which he worked. Porterfield writes a preface for this edition. Nolan Porterfield's other books include Last Cavalier: The Life and Times of John A. Lomax and an award-winning novel, A Way of Knowing. A native of Texas, he now lives near Bowling Green, Kentucky.
Louis Armstrong's New Orleans
Louis Armstrong's New Orleans interweaves a searching account of early twentieth-century New Orleans with a narrative of the first twenty-one years of Armstrong's life. Drawing on a stunning body of first-person accounts, this book tells the rags-to-riches tale of Armstrong's early life and the social and musical forces that shaped him. The city and the musician are both extraordinary, their relationship unique, and their impact on American culture incalculable.
Daydream Nation
Daydream Nation is the kind of gorgeous monstrosity (born of extremes, rife with difficulties, and mythic in proportion) that can crush the will of the most resilient, well-intentioned listener if the necessary preparations haven't been made. Matthew Stearns explores the album from a range of angles, including a track-by-track analysis and a look at the historical and cultural context within which the album was made. Featuring a foreword by Lee Ranaldo and exclusive interviews with the band, this truly is the definitive guide to Daydream Nation.
Etudes-tableux Op. 33 (1st and 2nd Versions), Op. 39
A group of resourceful kids start solution-seekers.com, a website where cybervisitors can get answers to questions that trouble them. But when one questioner asks the true meaning of Christmas, the kids seek to unravel the mystery by journeying back through the prophecies of the Old Testament. What they find is a series of S words that reveal a spectacular story! With creative characters, humorous dialogue and great music, The S Files is a children's Christmas musical your kids will love performing.
Show I’ll Never Forget
In The Show I'll Never Forget, writer Sean Manning has gathered an amazing array of unforgettable concert memories from a veritable A-list of acclaimed novelists, poets, biographers, cultural critics, and songwriters. Their candid, first-person recollections reveal as much about the writers' lives at the time as they do about the venues where the shows occurred or the artists onstage. Ishmael Reed on Miles Davis Luc Sante on Public Image Ltd. Heidi Julavits on Rush Daniel Handler and Andrew Sean Greer on Metric Diana Ossana on Led Zeppelin Maggie Estep on Einsturzende Neubauten Dani Shapiro on Bruce Springsteen Gary Giddins on Titans of the Tenor! Nick Flynn on Mink DeVille Susan Straight on The Funk Festival Rick Moody on the The Lounge Lizards Jennifer Egan on Patti Smith Harvey Pekar on Joe Maneri Thurston Moore on Glen Branca, Rudolph Grey, and Wharton Tiers Chuck Klosterman on Prince Sigrid Nunez on Woodstock Jerry Stahl on David Bowie Charles R. Cross on Nirvana Marc Nesbitt on The Beastie Boys And many more . . . No matter where your musical taste falls, these often funny, occasionally sad, always thought-provoking essays-all written especially for The Show I'll Never Forget-are sure to connect with anyone who loves, or has ever loved, live music.
True to the Roots
Americana music isn't just a musical form--it's a state of mind. In this book, Monte Dutton charts the coordinates of this state of mind with a series of interviews and intimate portraits from the heart of alternative country, often known to its adherents simply as OKOM: Our Kind of Music. In places such as Austin and Nashville, Las Vegas and Key West, Dutton finds the voices of the genre that the Americana Music Association defines as "American roots music based on the traditions of country." True to the Roots profiles Grammy-nominated performers (such as Brad Paisley and Pat Green) as well as those who sing for tips in local bars, and bands such as Those Guys, Reckless Kelly, and Cross Canadian Ragweed. In these pages the reader encounters Vince Pawless, a guitar maker in Gainesville, Texas, and James White, owner of the Broken Spoke, a historic honky-tonk in Austin; and musicians such as Robert Earl Keen and James McMurtry. Each of these portraits provides a unique story about this music and explains why it not only survives but thrives outside a mainstream increasingly controlled by corporate culture and commercial constraints.
The Pegasus Pocket Guide to Mozart
It does all one could ask, and more, of a pocket guide.-The Times Literary Supplement One of the newest and most recommendable Mozart books is the Pocket Guide to Mozart. Written in a beautifully lucid and enthusiastic style.-The Independent on Sunday To celebrate the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth, an easy-to-use guide to Mozart's life and music, including: symphonies, concertos, operas, a seventy-five-page biography, and a poignant assessment of what the composer means to us today.
Grateful Dead Gear
The origins and secrets of the Grateful Dead's magical sound are told! This book is the first in-depth examination of the Dead's technical side, including their recording methods. From the "Acid Tests" of the mid-'60s to the famous "Wall of Sound" PA setup in the '70s and on to their exceptional later touring systems, the Grateful Dead were always on the cutting edge of technological innovation and experimentation. This exhaustive study includes clear and concise explanations of the band's equipment technology, instrument design, and studio recording techniques, plus a history of the group. Features: more than 100 photos and diagrams, many never before seen; new interviews with band members and tech personnel; suggested listening for every era of the group's history; and more!
Haunted Weather
"Not just a deeply thoughtful and richly populated survey of modern experimental music, it's a meditation on hearing itself."--GuardianDigital technology has changed the ways in which music is perceived, stored, distributed, mediated, and created. In the eye of the storm stands David Toop, shedding light on the most interesting music now being made, wherever he finds it. Haunted Weather is an intensive survey of recent developments in digital technology, sonic theory, and musical practice.
Bee Thousand
Marc Woodworth's book covers the album's long and unorthodox period of writing, recording, sequencing, and editing. It includes interviews with members of the band, manager Pete Jamison, web-master and GBV historian Rich Turiel and Robert Griffin of Scat Records. At least sixty-five songs were recorded and considered for the album and five distinct concepts were rejected before the band hit upon the records final form. One late version, very nearly released, contained only a few of Bee Thousand's definitive songs. The rest were left out and nearly ended up in the boxes of cassette out-takes cluttering up Robert Pollard's basement. The story of Guided By Voices transformation from an occasional and revolving group of complete unknowns to indie-rock heroes is very much part of the story behind the making of Bee Thousand. In addition to providing a central account of how the record was made, Woodworth devotes a substantial chapter to the album's lyrics. Robert Pollard's lyrics are described by critics, when they're described at all, as a brand of tossed-off surrealism, as if his verbal sensibility is somehow incidental to the songs themselves. Nothing could be further from the truth. Woodworth offers a sustained discussion of Pollard's work as a writer of often sublime, beautiful, and very human lyrics. The third key section of the book covers aesthetics. Woodworth considers the great appeal of the do-it-yourself nature of Bee Thousand and reflects on the larger importance of the strain of alternative rock for which this record is a touchstone.
And They All Sang
The Pulitzer Prize-winning historian talks with some of twentieth century's most iconic musicians-"Riveting . . . Just about every interview has a revelation" (San Francisco Chronicle). Through the second half of the twentieth century, Studs Terkel hosted the legendary radio show "The Wax Museum," presenting Chicago's music fans with his inimitable take on music of all kinds, from classical, opera, and jazz to gospel, blues, folk, and rock. Featuring more than forty of Terkel's conversations with some of the greatest musicians of the past century, And They All Sang is "a tribute to music's universality and power" (Philadelphia Inquirer). Included here are fascinating conversations with Louis Armstrong, Leonard Bernstein, Big Bill Broonzy, Bob Dylan, Dizzy Gillespie, Mahalia Jackson, Janis Joplin, Rosa Raisa, Pete Seeger, and many others. As the esteemed music critic Anthony DeCurtis wrote in the Chicago Tribune, "the terms 'interview' or 'oral history' don't begin to do justice to what Terkel achieves in these conversations, which are at once wildly ambitious and as casual as can be." Whether discussing Enrico Caruso's nervousness on stage with opera diva Edith Mason or the Beatles' 1966 encounter in London with revered Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar, "Terkel's singular gift for bringing his subjects to life in their own words should strike a chord with any music fan old enough to have replaced a worn-out record needle" (The New York Times). "Whether diva or dustbowl balladeer, Studs treats them all alike, with deep knowledge and an intimate, conversational approach . . . as this often remarkable book shows, Studs Terkel has remained mesmerized by great music throughout his life." -The Guardian "[Terkel's] expertise is evident on every page, whether debating the harmonic structure of the spirituals or discerning the subtleties of Keith Jarrett's piano technique . . . As ever, he is the most skillful of interviewers." -The Independent "What makes And They All Sang a rousing success isn't just Terkel's phenomenal range and broad knowledge, it's his passionate love of the music and his deep humanity." -San Francisco Chronicle
Classical Music, Why Bother?
The famous quip I don't know much about art, but I know what I like sums up many people's ideas about how to judge a work of art; but there are inherent limitations if we rely on immediate impressions in judging what should be enduring products of our culture. While some might criticize this as a return to elitism, Joshua Fineberg argues that without some way of determining intrinsic value, there can be no movement forward for creators or their audience. He draws on contemporary thought about Design space and Universal Grammar to show how intrinsic values can be rediscovered. He then looks at the importance of multimedia in allowing multiple points of entry for the discovering of new works, finally showing how the composer can Design music for human beings--creating a kind of art that can preserve the research agenda of conceptual work without renouncing the understanding of human listeners and performers embodied by craft. Classical Music: Why Bother? will intrigue all listeners of contemporary music, students of musical thought, and composers-but it will also interest students of contemporary aesthetics. It answers the age-old question How can we bring a new audience to contemporary art? - and challenges both the creators and their audience to broaden their ideas about what is valuable and lasting in today's culture.
Hotel California
Hoskyns brings a genuine love as well as an outsider's keen eye to the rise and fall of the California scene. . . . This is a riveting story, sensitively told.-Anthony DeCurtis, Contributing Editor, Rolling StoneFrom enduring musical achievements to drug-fueled chaos and bed-hopping antics, the L.A. pop music scene in the sixties and seventies was like no other, and journalist Barney Hoskyns re-creates all the excitement and mayhem. Hotel California brings to life the genesis of Crosby, Stills, and Nash at Joni Mitchell's house; the Eagles' backstage fistfights after the success of "Hotel California"; the drama of David Geffen and the other money men who transformed the L.A. music scene; and more.
