CELEBRATING THE DUKE

and Louis, Bessie, Billie, Bird, Carmen, Miles, Dizzy & Other Heroes

Ralph J. Gleason

REVIEWS:
"Even when he wrote about artists he knew less well, Gleason was able to distill the essence of their contributions while evoking the over-all beauty, dignity and majesty of jazz. But when he was thoroughly familiar with his subject-most notably Duke, Dizzy, Miles or Carmen McRae-he was uncommonly warm, insightful and sympathetic."
-Leonard Feather, Los Angeles Times

"Ralph Gleason! I read him. He understands me."
-Miles Davis

"[Gleason] was that excessively rare bird, a musician's critic....If you want to know what real jazz criticism is, read Celebrating the Duke. It is a fitting memorial to an outstanding critic and writer."
-Jazz Journal

"The pieces on Billie Holiday are in essence a cogent statement on the black artist in America. The piece on Carmen McRae is an amazingly evocative portrait of how she works her magic on audiences. The John Coltrane piece is a crisp, clear-headed appraisal of a complex musician who has driven many another critics into paroxysms of technical double talk. In short, in the course of celebrating his heroes, Gleason has presented a series of portraits that are as fine an introduction to jazz as you will find anywhere."
-Rolling Stone

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DESCRIPTION:
Celebrating the Duke offers readers a perceptive, panoramic survey of jazz as revealed, in illuminating detail, through the lives and music of its heroes and heroines, including Bessie Smith, Louis Armstrong, Jimmie Lunceford, Lester Young, Charlie Parker, Albert Ayler, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis and a rich cache of writings on "America's greatest composer," the Duke himself.

Foreword by Studs Terkel
With a new introduction by Ira Gitler

BIOGRAPHY:
Jazz and rock critic, founding editor of Rolling Stone, producer, disc jockey, teacher, and Vice-President of Fantasy Records, Ralph J. Gleason (1917-1975) was the author of Jam Sessions and The Jefferson Airplane and the San Francisco Sound.

Retail Price: $16.50

Online Sale Price: $15.68

Product Details: Paperback, 1995

280 Pages

Product Code: HC-0306806452

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