American Musicians II

Now greatly expanded with sixteen new essays, American Musicians II remains a superb introduction to the giants of jazz, or as Balliett himself calls it, "a highly personal encyclopedia, a series of close accounts of how a beautiful music grew, flourished, and (possibly) began the long trek back to its native silences." Breathtaking in its scope, the book features Balliett's singular portraits of jazz greats who have shaped this uniquely American tradition from its. Earliest days to the present, from inimitable innovators like Joe "King" Oliver and Jelly Roll Morton, to swing-era mainstays Fats Waller and Lester Young, to avant-garde pioneers such as Cecil Taylor and Ornette Coleman. We are treated to profiles of Pee Wee Russell, Red Allen, Earl Hines, and Mary Lou Williams, written when they were at the height of their powers; reconstructions of the lives of Art Tatum, Coleman Hawkins, Jack Teagarden, Zoot Sims, and Dave Tough. Quick but indelible glimpses into the daily (or nocturnal) lives of Duke Ellington and Charles Mingus; and vivid portrayals of such modern masters as Red Norvo, Buddy Rich, Elvin Jones, Art Farmer, Michael Moore, and Tommy Flanagan. This new edition adds essays on such major musicians as Benny Goodman, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, George Shearing, and Paul Desmond.

Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Nonfiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.