In the 1950s, New York City's Birdland was the center of the world of
modern jazz--and a revelation to Bill Crow, a wet-behind-the-ears
twenty-two-year-old from Washington State. Located on Broadway between
52nd and 53rd streets, the club named for the incomparable Charlie
"Bird" Parker
boasted lifesize photo murals of modern jazzmen like
Dizzy Gillespie, Lennie Tristano, and, of course, Bird himself, looming
large against jet black walls. Exotic live birds perched in cages behind
the bar. The midget master of ceremonies, 3'9" Pee Wee Marquette,
dressed in a zoot suit and loud tie,
smoked huge cigars and screeched
mispronounced introductions into the microphone. And the jazz-struck
young Crow would park in the bleachers till 4 am, blissfully enveloped
by the heady music of Bird, Bud Powell, Max Roach, and a host of other
jazz giants.
From Birdland to Broadway is an enthralling
insider's account of four decades of a life in jazz. Bill Crow,
journeyman bass player, superb storyteller, and author of the successful
Jazz Anecdotes, here narrates many moving and delightful tales of the pioneers of modern jazz he played with and was
befriended
by. We find Dizzy Gillespie, with whom Crow, because of prior
commitments, regretfully declined steady work, dancing at the Royal
Roost, Stan Getz sadly teetering on the brink of losing himself to
drugs, and Harry Belafonte (known then as "the Cinderella Gentleman")
running a lunch
counter in New York's Sheridan Square between music
dates. And we also witness many of the highlights of Crow's career, such
as in 1955 when the Marian McPartland Trio (with Crow on bass) was
named "Small Group of the Year" by Metronome; Crow playing with the Gerry Mulligan Quartet at venues like
Storyville
in Boston and Harlem's Apollo Theater (where they appeared with Dinah
Washington); and the tour of the Soviet Union with Benny Goodman, a
journey that might have been a high point of Crow's travels abroad but
was marred by Goodman's legendary mistreatment of his band.
Moving
beyond jazz clubs to the Broadway concert pit and a variety of studio
gigs in the '60s, Crow encounters actors such as Yul Brynner and
pop-rock acts like Simon and Garfunkel. From the great to the
near-great, from Billie Holiday to Judy Holliday, Bill Crow's wealth of
personal anecdotes
takes the reader from Birdland, to the Half Note,
to the Playboy Club, to the footlights of Broadway. This revealing book
is a marvelous portrait of the jazz world, told by someone who's been
there.
Oldie but goodie!!! Thanks very much...
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