Weather Bird: Jazz at the Dawn of Its Second Century

By Gary Giddins

Book Overview

Gary Giddins's magnificent book Visions of Jazz has been hailed as a landmark in music criticism. Jonathan Yardley in The Washington Post called it "the definitive compendium by the most interesting jazz critic now at work." And Alfred Appel, Jr., in The New York Times Book Review, said it was "the finest unconventional history of jazz ever written." It was the first work on jazz ever to win the National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism.
Now comes Weather Bird, a brilliant companion volume to Visions of Jazz. In this superb collection of essays, reviews and articles, Giddins brings together, for the first time, more than 140 pieces written over a 14-year period, most of them for his column in the Village Voice (also called "Weather Bird"). The book is first and foremost a celebration of jazz, with illuminating commentary on contemporary jazz events, on today's top musicians, on the best records of the year, and on leading figures from jazz's past. Readers will find extended pieces on Louis Armstrong, Erroll Garner, Benny Carter, Sonny Rollins, Dave Brubeck, Ornette Coleman, Billie Holiday, Cassandra Wilson, Tony Bennett, and many others. Giddins includes a series of articles on the annual JVC Jazz Festival, which taken together offer a splendid overview of jazz in the 1990s. Other highlights include an astute look at avant-garde music ("Parajazz") and his challenging essay, "How Come Jazz Isn't Dead?" which advances a theory about the way art is born, exploited, celebrated, and sidelined to the museum.
A radiant compendium by America's leading music critic, Weather Bird offers an unforgettable look at the modern jazz scene.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195156072
• ISBN13: 9780195156072
• Release Date: November 2004
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 656 Pages
• Weight: 2.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.4" x 1.7" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

jazz fans delight

giddins does a marvelous job of identifying the key jazz figures of the ages and sketching their techniques, showmanship and mastery of jazz idioms. a rare blend of scholarship and fascinating repartee.

A Solid Perspective on the World of Jazz--Old and New

Giddins, the author of the wonderfully detailed and perceptive biography of Bing Crosby, presents, interprets, and contrasts a wide array of topics revolving about the world of jazz: ranging from Rosemary Clooney to Louie Armstrong to the harmonious sibling act, The Boswell Sisters, as well as many essays on the state of jazz. Separately, or in the context of the entire book, Giddins's personal assessments make for provocative reading on a complex, pulsating musical genre. A great read!