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Loading... Benny Carter, a life in American musicby Morroe Berger
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Belongs to Publisher SeriesStudies in Jazz (40)
This extraordinary two-volume work was hailed as a milestone of jazz literature when it was originally published in 1982. Examining both his musical and cultural significance, the authors present the life and career of Benny Carter, one of the most important and versatile figures in jazz. During the past two decades, Carter, in his eighties and nineties, continued to expand his musical realm. In this new edition, Edward Berger has brought the unparalleled Carter saga into the new millennium, adding insider accounts of tours, major concerts, recordings, and other special events. In addition, the new work reveals more of the reticent Carter's complex character and views, gleaned from hundreds of hours of interviews and conversations. The accompanying annotated discography, one of the most comprehensive ever devoted to the work of a single musician, has been thoroughly revised and updated. Dozens of new and previously unpublished photographs have been added. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)785.42The arts Music Ensembles with only one instrument per part {chamber music} [formerly: Instrumental ensembles] Ensembles without keyboard {formerly: Music for small ensembles} {formerly: Jazz}LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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Berger follows Carter's career through his experience arranging for other leaders' bands, playing in those bands, developing as a soloist, leading his own bands, spending time in Europe, writing for television and movies, changing to small combos as big bands became unfeasible, and further development. He speaks of Carter the person and describes many interactions, but he does not go into detail about Carter's marriages and divorces or other intimate details. The focus is on Carter the musician and public figure, and how his experiences reflected and affected the state of jazz, the music business, and society. Berger ends with a chapter describing Carter's participation in workshops and other formats for teaching jazz, including at Princeton. He provides hundreds of footnotes and a detailed index. I particularly enjoyed a lot of the pictures showing Carter with his bands and other individual musicians. ( )