Book picks similar to
Jazz by William Claxton
music
non-fiction
jazz
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American Legends: The Life of Dean Martin
Charles River Editors - 2013
*Includes some of Martin's most colorful quotes. *Includes a Bibliography for further reading. "If people want to think I get drunk and stay out all night, let 'em. That's how I got here, you know." - Dean Martin A lot of ink has been spilled covering the lives of history's most influential figures, but how much of the forest is lost for the trees? In Charles River Editors' American Legends series, readers can get caught up to speed on the lives of America's most important men and women in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known. Like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin is an American legend for his longevity and success across a garden variety of different platforms. Martin began as a nightclub singer, performed in a comedy act, starred in films, recorded hit albums, and capped his career by serving as a television host. In fact, there may be no star who was better able to transcend the different avenues of entertainment. Martin's success was made all the more amazing by the fact that he never had to change his personality or persona to find success in his different endeavors. From the beginning, Martin's public persona remained largely unchanged. He grew more famous and wealthy, but he always remained the smooth-talking Italian with the easy charm and the cool veneer. As Jerry Lewis noted in his memoirs about Martin, "Dean had this uncanny way of making everything bad look like it wasn't all that bad." If anything, Martin suggested that no matter the circumstances, people can always face their situation with leisurely charm. Martin's versatility is unprecedented even today, an era in which stars routinely alternate between film and musical careers. Martin was able to simultaneously work across different media at the same time; even after rising to fame as a singer, he continued to perform with Jerry Lewis and star in films. But after his film career took off, he continued to perform the crooning style of music that had made him famous and had long since been outdated. While other actors were forced to drastically alter their persona to keep up with the times, Martin's ability to fuse suave glamour with an everyday ordinariness ensured he didn't need to transform anything. Martin's life and career are often compared to his close friend and contemporary Frank Sinatra, and for good reason. Both came from proud Italian families, both were cohorts in the famed Rat Pack in the 1960s, and they each maintained success even late in their careers. However, Sinatra's career was filled with far more ups and downs than Martin, and his public image experienced highs and lows along with it. It's also somewhat ironic that it was Martin who Anglicized his name but remained a bigger Italian icon than Sinatra. They each began their careers as Italian crooners, but Martin maintained his style while Sinatra adopted a brasher, more "All-American" singing method. Martin never strayed far from his humble background, even as he became one of America's biggest stars. American Legends: The Life of Dean Martin profiles the life and career of one of America's most famous performers. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Dean Martin like you never have before, in no time at all.
Crowded House: Something So Strong
Chris Bourke - 1997
When "Don't Dream It's Over" and "Something So Strong" exploded in the US charts, worldwide success looked inevitable. Critics compared them musically to the Beatles and fans adored them for their warmth and humour on stage. Four brilliant albums later, their roller-coaster ride of achievements and disappointments came to an end on the steps of the Sydney Opera House, in front of one of the largest audiences in Australian history. The dream was over, the band broken up, their enormous promise only partly fulfilled. In this definitive account, New Zealand journalist Chris Bourke has written the true story of Crowded House. With unparalleled access to all band members, their families, friends, musical collaborators, managers, and record company personanel, he has captured their essence. It is a unique tale of musical chemistry, family bonds and the personal costs of pursuing an artistic vision. From the manic energy of the recording studio to the machinations of the record industry, this riveting account is a book for every Crowded House fan.
In the Break: The Aesthetics of the Black Radical Tradition
Fred Moten - 2003
In the Break is an extended riff on “The Burton Greene Affair,” exploring the tangled relationship between black avant-garde in music and literature in the 1950s and 1960s, the emergence of a distinct form of black cultural nationalism, and the complex engagement with and disavowal of homoeroticism that bridges the two. Fred Moten focuses in particular on the brilliant improvisatory jazz of John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Albert Ayler, Eric Dolphy, Charles Mingus, and others, arguing that all black performance—culture, politics, sexuality, identity, and blackness itself—is improvisation.For Moten, improvisation provides a unique epistemological standpoint from which to investigate the provocative connections between black aesthetics and Western philosophy. He engages in a strenuous critical analysis of Western philosophy (Heidegger, Kant, Husserl, Wittgenstein, and Derrida) through the prism of radical black thought and culture. As the critical, lyrical, and disruptive performance of the human, Moten’s concept of blackness also brings such figures as Frederick Douglass and Karl Marx, Cecil Taylor and Samuel R. Delany, Billie Holiday and William Shakespeare into conversation with each other.Stylistically brilliant and challenging, much like the music he writes about, Moten’s wide-ranging discussion embraces a variety of disciplines—semiotics, deconstruction, genre theory, social history, and psychoanalysis—to understand the politicized sexuality, particularly homoeroticism, underpinning black radicalism. In the Break is the inaugural volume in Moten’s ambitious intellectual project-to establish an aesthetic genealogy of the black radical tradition.
Photographing the World Around You: A Visual Design Workshop
Freeman Patterson - 1994
PHOTOGRAPHING THE WORLD AROUND YOU, is about learning to see and about using your camera to record and interpret what you see where ever you are.
Treasured Lands: A Photographic Odyssey Through America's National Parks
Q.T. Luong - 2016
After Congress viewed photos of Yosemite, President Lincoln was moved to sign a bill that paved the way for the U.S. National Park Service, which was founded in 1916 and is now celebrating its centennial. In Treasured Lands: A Photographic Odyssey Through America's National Parks, photographer QT Luong pays tribute to the millions of acres of protected wilderness in our country's 59 national parks. Luong, who is featured in Ken Burns's and Dayton Duncan's documentary The National Parks: America's Best Idea, is one the most prolific photographers working in the national parks and the only one to have made large-format photographs in each of them. In an odyssey that spanned more than 20 years and 300 visits, Luong focused his lenses on iconic landscapes and rarely seen remote views, presenting his journey in this sumptuous array of more than 500 breathtaking images. Accompanying the collection of scenic masterpieces is a guide that includes maps of each park, as well as extended captions that detail where and how the photographs were made. Designed to inspire visitors to connect with the parks and invite photographers to re-create these landscapes, the guide also provides anecdotal observations that give context to the pictures and convey the sheer scope of Luong's extraordinary odyssey. Including an introduction by award-winning author and documentary filmmaker Dayton Duncan, Treasured Lands is a rich visual tour of the U.S. National Parks and an invaluable guide from a photographer who hiked - or paddled, dived, skied, snowshoed, and climbed - each park, shooting in all kinds of terrain, in all seasons, and at all times of day. QT Luong's timeless gallery of the nation's most revered landscapes beckons to nature lovers, armchair travelers, and photography enthusiasts alike, keeping America's natural wonders within reach.
From The Murks Of The Sultry Abyss
Brandon Boyd - 2007
The second book from Brandon Boyd which follows up the successful White Fluffy Clouds, From the Murks of the Sultry Abyss comes in a special outer box, a limited edition #d sheet of stickers of artwork from Boyd, and the book itself comes sealed.
Blue: The Color of Noise
Steve Aoki - 2019
The mix. His life. [A] passionate, introspective memoir. --Publishers WeeklySometimes I think my whole life can be seen through shades of blue... --Steve AokiBlue is the remarkable story--in pictures and words--of Steve Aoki, the superstar DJ/producer who started his career as a vegan straightedge hardcore music kid hellbent on defying his millionaire father, whose unquenchable thirst to entertain--inherited from his dad, Rocky Aoki, founder of Benihana--led him to global success and two Grammy nominations.Ranked among the top ten DJs in the world today, Grammy-nominated artist, producer, label head, fashion designer, philanthropist and entrepreneur Steve Aoki is an authentic global trendsetter and tastemaker who has been instrumental in defining contemporary youth culture. Known for his outrageous stage antics (cake throwing, champagne spraying, and the 'Aoki Jump') and his endearing personality, Steve is also the brains behind indie record label Dim Mak, which broke acts such as The Kills, Bloc Party, and The Gossip. Dim Mak also put out the first releases by breakout EDM stars The Chainsmokers and The Bloody Beetroots, as well as the early releases for Grammy-nominated artist Iggy Azalea, in addition to EDM star Zedd and electro duo MSTRKFT.In Blue, Aoki recounts the epic highs of music festivals, clubs and pool parties around the world, as well as the lows of friendships lost to drugs and alcohol, and his relationship with his flamboyant father. Illustrated with candid photos gathered throughout his life, the book reveals how Aoki became a force of nature as an early social media adopter, helping to turn dance music into the phenomenon it is today. All this, while remaining true to his DIY punk rock principles, which value spontaneity, fun and friendship above all else--demonstrable by the countless cakes he has flung across cities worldwide.
The Daybooks of Edward Weston
Edward Weston - 1973
His journal has become a classic of photographic literature. Weston was a towering figure in twentieth-century photography, whose restless quest for beauty and the mystical presence behind it resulted in a body of work unrivaled in the medium. John Szarkowski observes that "It was as though the things of everyday experience had been transformed... into organic sculptures, the forms of which were both the expression and the justification of the life within... He had freed his eyes of conventional expectation, and had taught them to see the statement of intent that resides in natural form."
The Real Book - Volume I - Sixth Edition: C Edition
Hal Leonard Corporation - 2004
The Real Books are the best-selling jazz books of all time. Since the 1970s, musicians have trusted these volumes to get them through every gig, night after night. The problem is that the books were illegally produced and distributed, without any regard to copyright law, or royalties paid to the composers who created these musical masterpieces. Hal Leonard is very proud to present the first legitimate and legal editions of these books ever produced. You won't even notice the difference, other than that all of the notorious errors have been fixed: the covers and typeface look the same, the song list is nearly identical, and the price for our edition is even cheaper than the original! Every conscientious musician will appreciate that these books are now produced accurately and ethically, benefitting the songwriters that we owe for some of the greatest tunes of all time! Includes 400 songs: All Blues * Au Privave * Autumn Leaves * Black Orpheus * Bluesette * Body and Soul * Bright Size Life * Con Alma * Dolphin Dance * Don't Get Around Much Anymore * Easy Living * Epistrophy * Falling in Love with Love * Footprints * Four on Six * Giant Steps * Have You Met Miss Jones? * How High the Moon * I'll Remember April * Impressions * Lullaby of Birdland * Misty * My Funny Valentine * Oleo * Red Clay * Satin Doll * Sidewinder * Stella by Starlight * Take Five * There Is No Greater Love * Wave * and hundreds more! Editions also available in B-flat, E-flat, and Bass Clef. Looking for a particular song? Check out the Real Book Songfinder here.
Dreads
Francesco Mastalia - 1999
According to ancient Hindu beliefs, dreads signified a singleminded pursuit of the spiritual. Devotion to God displaced vanity, and hair was left to its own devices.Dreads captures this organic explosion of hair in all its beautiful, subversive glory. One hundred duotone portraits present dread-heads from around the world, in all walks of life. Interviewed on location by the photographers, jatta-wearers wax philosophic about the integrity of their hair, and every stunning image confirms their choice. Alice Walker puts words to pictures, offering lyrical ruminations about her decision to let her own mane mat.
Harry Styles: Every Piece of Me
Louisa Jepson - 2013
Made up of bandmates Liam Payne, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, and Harry himself, 1D came to prominence in the 2010 television series of X Factor UK. Since then they’ve played to sold-out arenas as they toured the world, topped the charts across the globe, and broken numerous records. Initially auditioning as separate contestants, the band was put together by Simon Cowell who thought they would stand a much better chance as a group. Simon was proved right as the five boys went on to finish third in the competition—and onward to global superstardom. Born February 1st, 1994 in Holmes Chapel, Cheshire, Harry is often considered the favorite of 1D fans. Known for his trademark boyish looks and gorgeous curly hair, girls all over the world are falling head over heels in love with him and will do anything to get his attention. Lifting the lid on life as a member of the world’s biggest band, this is the inspirational and sensational story of a how a boy from Cheshire followed his dreams to become an international star and heartthrob to millions of devoted fans.
John Lennon: The New York Years
Bob Gruen - 2005
Presents a summary of the innovative musician's life during his nine years in New York City, together with a collection of 150 full-color photographs and reminiscences on the stories behind the photographs.
Bob Dylan
Daniel Kramer - 1967
In this photographic tour of Dylan’s breakthrough years, 1964 to 1965, Daniel Kramer shows the human side of this legendary figure — playing chess, making coffee, and in one whimsical moment, sitting in a tree — and also in the studio and onstage. An essay by the photographer sheds further light on the man and his music.
Fast Freehand Fills: Vol 1: Basic Fills
Dawn Summerall - 2013
Always have a fresh fill on hand with this catalog of basic fills and patterns. The Fast Freehand Fills series provides zen expressionists with a repertoire of found and unique basic patterns that are easy to draw freehand. Wavy checkerboards, fishnets, pinstripe pajamas and dog bones are all waiting inside this catalog of fills. Great for zen drawing, mandalas and artistic journaling.
Igniting the Sixth Sense: The Lost Human Sensory that Holds the Key to Spiritual Awakening and Unlocking the Power of the Universe
Eric Pepin - 2013
Is it possible to: - Influence reality with the power of thought? - Push into the universal mind, vastly increasing your intelligence? - Easily reach peak states for real, breakthrough spiritual experiences? Indeed and much more. This is not just another fuzzy New Age book about a magical, vague 'sixth sense'. Igniting the Sixth Sense deals with the magnetic sense that allows birds, whales, bees and many other animals to detect and use magnetic fields in ways that seem impossible for humans. Yet, we possess this same natural ability. What happens if you combine a modern human with an active, magnetic sensory? They display skills and abilities that seem, at times, super-human. Eric Pepin, the #1 spiritual Amazon bestselling author of Meditation within Eternity and The Handbook of the Navigator, takes you on a journey where you will discover: * How to access a larger memory beyond your own; the Akashic Records * Discover the method of magnetic prana attraction that makes the entire Universe react to who you are and what you want * How to enhance every mind, body and spiritual technique you practice. Including meditation, martial arts and more * The 15 minute miracle that gives you nearly unlimited amounts of energy * How to create a 'psychic buffer' so you aren't overwhelmed, harmed or influenced by the energy and thoughts of others * Learn the secret to programming your own energy field And that's just the beginning. There are 280 pages worth, packed with in-depth knowledge and effective techniques you can easily apply. It's all here, and it works.