Valerie Wilmer

This is a phenomenal book about music, music which -- let's be frank -- you probably won't like. Spontaneous, improvised, 'free' jazz is certainly not everybody's cup of tea: it can be raucous, squally 'n' squealy, LOUD and otherwise difficult, and is definitely not the type of jazz that Joe and Jane Standardissue think about curling up with on a snowy day. I don't much like Joe and Jane's kind of jazz for what that's worth -- it's probably Kenny G or some shit like that (which isn't jazz, show more but I digress).

I happen to love this stuff, and As Serious as Your Life is where I first encountered reliable descriptions of late John Coltrane, Anthony Braxton, Cecil Taylor, and Sun Ra. I'm especially grateful to Wilmer for the last-named artist, who has been a tremendous influence on and improver-of my life.

I mean, I didn't "get" Cecil Taylor at all until I saw what Wilmer had titled her chapter on him: 88 Tuned Drums. Then it all made sense.

If you are sonically adventurous, this book is a gold mine, a rock on which to stand. show less

Pretty good. Covers in detail lots of people who don't generally get coverage of drummer Ed Blackwell and drummer Milford Graves. Having just seen the graves documentary I was pleased that his portrayal was consistent in this book. Great look at what it was really like to be a free-jazz musician in the 60's/70's (spoiler: it was hard!)

Vibrant photographs of such performers as Duke Ellington, Otis Rush, and B. B. King, combined with their own words, provide insight into the world of the black musician from the backwoods of Mississippi to New Orleans, New York, and Chicago

Why don't more people read about jazz?