Showing results for "Jazz" in Biographies & Memoirs

In the six lectures of The Great Gatsby at 100, you will join Sheila Liming of Champlain College to revisit the context and culture of the Roaring ‘20s, which inspired the story of the mysterious Jay Gatsby and his disastrous pursuit of Daisy Buchanan. As you’ll discover, while Gatsby is framed as a love story, it’s also a story of the American experience, revealing the unspoken rules of wealth and class and the false promises of self-made success in a world of Old Money privilege.

Royal intrigue takes center stage in The Abyssinians, a gripping new audio drama starring Danielle Deadwyler (Till, The Piano Lesson) delivering a masterful performance as a cunning queen navigating treacherous political waters and scheming sons. In the wake of King Ezana’s death, his brash widow Queen Yodit (Deadwyler) must decide which of her twin sons will ascend to the throne. Clashing beliefs about religion, duty, and the rights of a ruler collide in this unforgettable story about a royal house at a crossroads in history.

In a world dominated by men, Marian McPartland distinguished herself as one of the greatest jazz pianists of her age. Born in the UK as Margaret Marian Turner, Marian McPartland learned to play classical piano, but was passionately attracted to the rhythms of American jazz. Entertaining troops in WWII Europe, she met her future husband, Jimmy McPartland, a cocky young trumpet player who was the protege of the great Bix Beiderbecke. They were married and, together, they made jazz history.

From T. J. English, the New York Times bestselling author of Havana Nocturne, comes the epic, scintillating narrative of the interconnected worlds of jazz and organized crime in 20th century America. ""[A] brilliant and courageous book."" —Dr. Cornel West Dangerous Rhythms tells the symbiotic...

Talks with Jazz is an authentic and thought-provoking podcast hosted by Jazz, a voice that isn’t afraid to dive into the real questions of life, relationships, and society. Through open conversations and honest reflections, Jazz explores topics that matter — from personal growth and human connection to the challenges and dynamics of our modern world. Created as a safe space for dialogue and deeper understanding, Talks with Jazz is about breaking down barriers, questioning norms, and sparking conversations that resonate beyond the mic. Hébergé par Ausha. Visitez ausha.co/fr/...

This program includes an introduction read by the author. A stunning, in-depth look at the power and poetry of one of the most consequential rappers of our time. Kendrick Lamar is one of the most influential rappers, songwriters and record producers of his generation. Widely known for his...

Beginning with his childhood growing up in Chicago’s Cabrini Green neighborhood, Ramsey Lewis recounts his memories of the music in his parents’ church and his early piano lessons. As he learned classical technique, Lewis also absorbed countless jazz records and heard gospel music weekly, finally becoming a performer himself in his teenage years. With his coauthor and collaborator, Aaron Cohen, Lewis describes his early steps in jazz from joining the Clefs in the ’50s, to eventually establishing the Ramsey Lewis Trio. This memoir provides an evocative tour of Lewis’s life.

He's the butt of political jokes, frequently subjected to ridicule, and almost never absent a "Worst Presidents" list where he most often ends up at the bottom. Historians have labeled him the "Worst President Ever," "Dead Last," "Unfit," and "Incompetent," to name but a few. Many contemporaries...

It was a Roaring Twenties fatal attraction. Nettie Herskovitz was wealthy and widowed when she met Harry Diamond. The attentive, irresistibly sexy twenty-three-year-old suitor would become Nettie's fifth husband. He was also a bootlegger, pimp, and first-class hustler who thought he'd wed a goldmine. What Harry found instead was a fiercely independent older woman who was nobody's fool for long.

In this collection of musical portraits, jazz pianist and radio host Marian McPartland pays sparkling tribute to such beloved and legendary figures as Benny Goodman, Bill Evans, Joe Morello, Paul Desmond, Alec Wilder, Mary Lou Williams, and others.

Drawing on interviews with family members, managers, promoters, and the jazz musicians who worked with her, as well as contemporary newspaper articles and reviews, Late Life Jazz tells the unsung story of one of America's finest singers, Rosemary Clooney. Ken Crossland and Malcolm Macfarlane trace Rosemary's life from her hardscrabble beginnings in Maysville Kentucky, through her first performances singing with the Barney Rapp Band in Cincinnati, through her rise to pop stardom in the early 1950s.

Den danske jazzmusiker Dan Hilfling Petersen fortæller her den utrolige, men sande historie om, hvordan han på en turné i DDR forelskede sig så hovedkulds i en østtysk pige, at han valgte at blive agent for Stasi for at få mulighed for at smugle hende ud af Tyskland. Hvad Stasi ikke vidste var dog, at den 20-årige musiker på sin mission også havde allieret sig med PET. Den danske efterretningstjeneste lærte ham blandt andet, hvordan man kan klare sig igennem Stasis notorisk hårde krydsforhør.

“Moving, thoughtful, redemptive. The Strangers is an important book. It will become a Black classic.”— Ben Okri, author of The Famished Road “Thrilling and ingenious, propulsive and genre-defying: The Strangers is an outstanding book. Compelling and imaginatively expansive, this is...

Step into the unknown with Corners of Curiosity, the podcast where we dive into history, true crime, and the strange corners of culture that don’t always make the headlines. I’m Jazz, and each week I explore eerie stories, unsolved mysteries, and the curious tales that keep us up at night. Whether you’re commuting, chilling at home, or late-night scrolling, this is your front-row seat to the weird, the wild, and the thought-provoking. Subscribe and join me as we uncover the stories hiding in plain sight.

Offering an insider’s view of my worldwide adventures as a professional jazz musician for 45 years, along with reflections on my broader life today.

Vivian Gordon went out before midnight in a velvet dress and mink coat. Her body turned up the next morning in a desolate Bronx park, a dirty clothesline wrapped around her neck. At her stylish Manhattan apartment, detectives discovered notebooks full of names—businessmen, socialites, gangsters. And something else—a letter from an anti-corruption commission established by Governor Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

The Clyde Valley Stompers became, in the 1950s, Scotland's first ever super group. In 1961, at just 20 years of age, Peter 'Pete' Kerr inherited leadership of the Clydes after they moved to London. The band stormed the charts the following year and were launched into the glitzy world of mainstream popular music. Then, to the dismay of the Stompers' legions of fans, the curtain came down. But this is more than just a chronicle of their rise and fall.

Ben und Tim auf Gedankenreise durch den Dschungel des Lebens. Eine lockere Unterhaltung über Dinge die uns bewegen. Wir sprechen Themen wie Beziehungen, Glück, persönliches Wachstum und moderne Moral auf direkte und ehrliche Weise an. Regelmäßig packen wir unsere Koffer und reisen mit dir durch die Welt um uns mit Menschen zu unterhalten und so zu entschlüsseln was zu einem glücklichen Leben gehört.

Thought and comments on past times and past experiences in life, as well as comments on todays issues from the view of a retired older gentleman, a loosely used description of myself. May be controversial and may be reflective. What ever the topic I will have an opinion to express. Some you may agree with and some you won’t. That’s life.

Arthur Briggs's life was Homeric in scope. Born on the the tiny island of Grenada, he set sail for Harlem during the Renaissance, then to Europe in the aftermath of World War I, where he was among the first pioneers to introduce jazz music to the world. During the legendary Jazz Age in Paris, Briggs's trumpet provided the soundtrack while Hemingway, Fitzgerald, and the rest of the Lost Generation got drunk. By the 1930s, Briggs was considered "the Louis Armstrong of Paris," and was the peer of the greatest names of his time, from Josephine Baker to Django Reinhardt.