Music & Movies

Not only biography, but also one of the earliest American attempts to trace the development of jazz.--from the foreword by Dan Morgenstern The first autobiography of a jazz musician, Louis Armstrong's Swing That Music is a milestone in jazz literature...

Book of the Week, Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC) Children's Book Award Notable, International Reading Association (IRA) Original Art Show, Society of Illustrators Youth List, Collaborative Summer Library ProgramSearching his Harlem...

Few American superstar stories are richer, wilder, or more excessive than Rick James's. He played in a band with Neil Young, spent years in jail, produced his first album (which was then picked up by Motown) with money from shadowy sources, crossed rock...

Art Pepper (1925-1982) was called the greatest alto saxophonist of the post-Charlie Parker generation. But his autobiography, Straight Life, is much more than a jazz book--it is one of the most explosive, yet one of the most lyrical, of all...

Kim Osorio had a front-row seat for the biggest beefs, battles, and blow-ups in hip-hop. As the first female editor-in-chief of The Source, she had come up. From her corner office, Kim got the goods on hip-hop's hottest names: Jay-Z, Nas, 50 Cent, Lil'...

The ultimate love letter to the world's most magical plant: Weed. Best-selling author, rapper, chef, and television star Action Bronson is a marijuana superhero, and Stoned Beyond Belief is his masterpiece. This is an exploration of every corner of the...

Hailed as the greatest guitarist since Hendrix, virtuoso Stevie Ray Vaughan forged a distinctive style out of blues, rock and roll and R&B roots. A genuine guitar hero who crafted his attack in countless pass-the-hat jams in Austin bars and ended his...

(Guitar Book). Bassist James Jamerson was the embodiment of the Motown spirit and groove the invisible entity whose playing inspired thousands. His tumultuous life and musical brilliance are explored in depth through hundreds of interviews, 49...

The creator of the unforgettable "Girl from Ipanema" tenor sax tone, this son of Ukranian immigrants took his unique sound through five decades of swing, cool, bossa and beyond. From Getz's teenage gigs with Dorsey, Goodman and Stan Kenton, fame with...

In the early twentieth century, St. Louis was a hotbed for ragtime and blues, both roots of jazz music. In 1914, Jelly Roll Morton brought his music to the area. In 1919, Louis Armstrong came to town to play on the "floating conservatories" that plied the

Urban communities throughout the United States and the world are in a phase of rebuilding, whether it is economically, socially, spirituality, or culturally. It is important in these times that diverse communities retain values that distinguish them and...

Urban communities throughout the United States and the world are in a phase of rebuilding, whether it is economically, socially, spirituality, or culturally. It is important in these times that diverse communities retain values that distinguish them and...

"We developed reputations real fast. We treated our entertainers right. We got them paid. Other agents and promoters and managers showed them the money. We got them the money. We brought respect to the African American artist in America. We brought them...

The history of South Carolina blues is a long, deep--and sometimes painful--story. However, it is a narrative with aspects as compelling as the music itself. Geographical differences in America led to variations in the styles of music that developed from...