Jazz A•B•Z
by Paul Rogers and Wynton Marsalis
OK,
this is not just the perfect book for the jazz fan, it is also an ideal
book for anyone -- of any
age -- who has a love of words and pictures. This sumptuous
hardcover volume has the potential to turn the squarest square into
the heppest
cat. Everyone is a jazz fan in the making: this is just the
ticket to inspire them to take a closer look. And, of course, it
should go without saying (but you knew we couldn't resist, didn't you)
that this book will gladden the heart of every lover of jazz
every time, every place, everywhere. Jazz ABZ is
a pæn to
jazz in art and poetry that simply has to be seen to be believed.
The
essence of jazz -- collaboration, composition, and improvisation -- is
embodied in this singular tribute to the form. It was designed by Jill von Hartmann -- who deserves an
outsize portion of the credit for the success of this work, as the
book's overall look and feel provides a perfect container for its
contents -- to resemble the
traditional albums of 78rpm records from back
in the day when jazz was king (right down to the textured faux-leather
edge of the binding and the right, front end-paper that is die cut to
resemble a record sleeve). Paul Rogers, the consummately
professional illustrator – and, need we say it? life long jazz fan –
responsible for this work's visuals, has totally nailed the jazz
aesthetic in these 26 poster-like portraits, each devoted to a giant of
jazz (we are especially enthusiatic about Rogers's incorporation of Stuart Davis tropes, as
Davis, was the foremost proponent of embracing the key tenet of jazz --
individual, personality-driven improvosation within studied,
principle-based, formal composition -- into the visual arts).
And, thanks to the miracle of the internet, you don't have to
take our word for it, as every one of these masterworks is viewable
online, HERE,
(just scroll down and then click on any thumbnail to enlarge it to the
size of the image below). Every one of these is accompanied by
a truly wonderful
jazz-poem portrait by the one and only
Wynton Marsalis that really
captures these historic figures in surprisingly sophisticated pieces
(surprising in that who knew Mr.
Marsalis was such an accomplished poet?
Not us, that's for sure!) that amazingly manage to simultaneously
demonstrate a
great empathy for the humanity of these jazz
champions in the
description of their characters and
capture the essence of their
unique
musicality in the equally unique
poetic form that each of the pieces takes, forms which, we hasten to
add, are each perfectly matched to the jazz artist in question.
(OK, we can't resist -- check out
these excerpts: "
Coltrane... Aww but couldn't he capsize calcified conventions and
challenge the contrarian campus critics? But couldn't he create
controversy amongst the condescending cognoscenti, the (chatty) clever,
the certified, and the (merely) competent? Couldn't he just keep
on cascading through closely clustered chord changes, cartwheeling
through complex, careening, chromatic calculations?" and, how
about "...It's Lady
Day. She lavishes loving-kindness on a
lonely lament.
Languid becomes luscious; lackluster, luxuriant. Limp becomes
lively;
a little – a lot. And laughter lifts longing all because a
relentless
lady loosed liquid life on lines of mulish melody and lugubrious
language to deliver me from lasting lovelessness...")
Louis
Armstrong, Count Basie, John Coltrane, MIles Davis, Duke Ellington,
Ella Fitzgerald and 20 more of the greatest in jazz -- they're all here
in poetic picture portraits that are an almost ideal balance of
the
visual and the verbal -- the ideal companion to the aural and audio of
jazz music.
And, as if that weren't enough, the book concludes with brief
biographical sketches of all the artists by that one-man walking
encyclopeida of Jazz, Phil Schaap, of WKCR fame.
And
we're selling it for 60% off it's original list price. You simply
can't go
wrong!
retail
price - $24.95
copacetic special price - $9.95
prices and
availability
current as of 11 July 2010