Jazz up your day with great titles and great music

Subway Beats: Celebrating New York City Buskers
Kurt Boone

Immerse yourself in the raw energy and enthusiasm of New York City subway buskers in this shining photo showcase. From makeshift stages in Times Square where MTA music banners are hung to subway station platforms and cars throughout the city, these performers collectively express the soul of the Big Apple while entertaining thousands of commuters and visitors daily. More than 200 photos depict singers, dancers, bands, duets, and quartets performing with violins, guitars, the French horn, the African kora, steel drums, and more. Mirroring the city’s diverse population, genres represented include music from the Andes and West Africa, Latin jazz, R&B, and more. Including interviews with veteran performers Roger Manning, Heidi Kole, and Cathy Grier, the book is sure to appeal to all lovers of New York City.

Size: 6″ x 6″ | 268 color images | 304 pp
ISBN13: 9780764351822 | Binding: hard cover

I received a complimentary copies.

Jazz in Available Light: Illuminating the Jazz Greats from the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s
Veryl Oakland , Foreword by Quincy Jones

Through both personal stories and stunning photographs captured behind the scenes, lose yourself in this bygone era of jazz that celebrates dozens of the most recognized and formidable jazz artists spanning three decades. As a freelance jazz photojournalist who devoted nearly thirty years in search of the great jazz musicians, Veryl Oakland profiles the music’s masters in a wide variety of settings—under the spotlight, in their homes, and far from the stage—in a personalized manner unique for jazz publications. Close followers of the entertainment industry and music lovers everywhere will be enthralled to see more than 340 iconic images of diverse stars—Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Buddy Rich, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Dexter Gordon, Art Blakey, Stan Getz, Phil Woods, Sun Ra, Cecil Taylor, Paul Bley, Weather Report, and Wynton Marsalis—covering music styles from swing, to bebop, cool, hard bop, free, and beyond.

Size: 9″ x 12″ | 350 b/w photographs | 288 pp
ISBN13: 9780764354830 | Binding: hard cover


Birdland, The Jazz Corner of the World: An Illustrated Tribute, 1949–1965
Leo T. Sullivan

Birdland was a legendary nightclub in New York City and, from 1949–65, was the scene for the greatest jazz music and musicians in the world. This illustrated book offers a history of this legendary jazz club, and presents the greats who played its stage in capsule biographies, vintage photos, and rare memorabilia. Named after legendary jazz saxophonist Charlie “Yardbird” Parker, the club showcased memorable double and triple bills lasting until dawn. Many classic live recordings were made at “The Jazz Corner of the World,” such as the “A Night at Birdland” by the Art Blakey Quintet, “Basie at Birdland,” and “Coltrane, Live at Birdland.” Birdland established itself as the one place that every jazz musician had to play. Greats such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Count Basie, John Coltrane, Art Tatum, Art Blakey, Horace Silver, Clifford Brown, Ella Fitzgerald, Stan Getz, Lester Young, Billie Holiday, Oscar Peterson, and Sonny Rollins, to name only a few, graced its stage.

Size: 8″ x 8″ | 151 color and b/w photos | 128 pp
ISBN13: 9780764355868 | Binding: hard cover

Cassandra's Review-  A beautiful collection of books that are sure to please any jazz lover.  The quality and photos are so inviting.  Any of these books will be a treat to read.