JAZZ & Big Band BOOKS (A - C)

Continued from
Collection Home Page

See also Harry's collection of
Big Band/Jazz CDs.

A Jazz Lexicon by Robert S. Gold(1964 First Edition). This A-to-Z dictionary explains jazz terms in the "vivid idiom of America’s most successful noncomformist minority." Definitions are sparked with illuminating quotations.

Auld Acquaintances, An Autobiography, by Guy Lombardo with Jack Altshul (1975). Lombardo had a popular dance band that withstood the test of time, year after year, and he was known for playing “the sweetest music this side of heaven.” The book includes several photographs of Welk and those he worked with. 

The Baby Dodds Story as told to Larry Gara (1992, Rev. ed. PB). Warren "Baby" Dodds became one of the greatest drummers of New Orleans early jazz tradition in the 1920s. This lively autobiography, first published more than 30 years ago, was republished in 1992 with minor additions to the original text. Dodds died in 1959, but he remains one of the most influential drummers who ever lived.

A Gene Krupa quote: "Baby taught me more than all the others—not only drum playing but drum philosophy. He was the first great drum soloist."

Bass Line: The Stories and Photographs of Milt Hinton, by Milt Hinton & David G. Berger (1988). First printing, with foreword by Dan Morgenstern. Hinton, a legendary jazz bassist and photographer of musicians, died in 2000. This book features 200 of his most outstanding photographs.

Benny Goodman and the Swing Era by James Lincoln Collier (1989). Reviewers called this a "controversial and widely acclaimed book about jazz and one of its most significant figures." This is a 5-1/4" x 8" trade paperback with 19 photographs.

A Benny Goodman quote: "After you've done all the work and prepared as much as you can, what the hell, you might as well go out and have a good time."

BG On the Record—a Bio-discography of Benny Goodman by D. Russell Connor & Warren W. Hicks (1969). A spectacular First Edition book that includes 41 photos, many never published before, plus invaluable historical info on Goodman's record sessions and recordings and radio broadcasts and an index of everyone known to have recorded or played with the Benny Goodman orchestra.

The Big Band Almanac by Leo Walker (2001 8"x10" PB). At the height of the dance band era, there were as many as 600 name, semi-name and territory bands. This book profiles, in A-to-Z order, the ones who were best known. Includes introductions by both Les Brown and Harry James, and features many photos that are collector's items. Great historical reference; 26-page index.

Big Band Jazz by Albert McCarthy (1977; 8-1/4" x 10-3/4" PB). Book is subtitled "The Definitive History of the Origins, Progress, Influence, and Decline of Big Jazz Bands" and is based on author's interviews with dozens of musicians and others who contributed their reminiscences to the book. More than 250 photographs, record lists and index.

The Big Bands by George T. Simon (1981, 4th ed.). Foreword by Frank Sinatra; more than 300 photos from private collections of bandleaders, musicians, and singers, with a Big Bands discography. Exclusive to this edition are a section on what happened to the big bands since earlier editions were published and a list of more than 200 big band theme songs.

Bix–Man & Legend, by Richard M. Sudhalter & Philip R. Evans. Arlington House (1974). First Edition. Bix was hailed as one of the most brilliant cornetists in the world. This is a sensitive portrait of a great artist by a jazzman who brings Bix to life. Includes Beiderbecke’s Who, What. Where & When diary from 1903 to his death in 1931; plus a Discography and a several B&W photos. See also Remembering Bix.

A Bix Quote: "One of the things I like about jazz, kid, is I don't know what's going to happen next. Do you?"

Black Beauty, White Heat:
A Pictorial History of Classic Jazz, 1920-1950 by Frank Driggs & Harris Lewine (1982). A beautifully designed First Edition oversized hardcover (9-1/4x"12-1/4"). Includes 1500 photographs, ads, pieces of sheet music and record labels, with a 16-page color insert.

Bunk Johnson by Christopher Hillman (1989 large PB). Johnson, a well-known trumpet player in the early days of jazz, became world famous during the New Orleans jazz revival in the 1940, at which time he made many recordings. He died in 1949 but his legend lives on.

Bunny Berigan: Elusive Legend of Jazz by Robert Dupuis (1993). First printing. This book is said to be the most painstakingly compiled and accurate picture available of this great jazz player who altered the voice of jazz for all time. Book includes nearly 50 photos, six appendixes, a selected discography, and index.