At the Jazz Band Ball - by Nat Hentoff (Paperback)

About the Book

"Nat Hentoff may very well be the foremost jazz historian in the world because he was there to witness firsthand the music's evolution from big band and swing to fusion and bossa nova; and to dive into the souls of the men and women who created it from Ellington, Basie, Miles, Ray Charles, Ella Fitzgerald and Dinah Washington, among many others. "At the Jazz Band Ball: Sixty Years on the Jazz Scene" is an invaluable archive of not only the musical influence of America's only indigenous music on the world, but its enormous impact as an engine for social change as well. It is a book that should be read by every young musician, music fan, and educator in America."--Quincy Jones
"The very best witnesses in the worlds of the law, aesthetic evaluation, social contexts of imposing significance, and artistic public performance are those who accurately understand what they have seen or what they are seeing. Nat Hentoff has been and continues to be a star witness in every one of those arenas. One of the greatest contributions of his jazz writing is that he has never felt the need to condescend to black people or to let the dictates of sociology diminish the universal significance of what they do when they do it well. Nat knows that so many jazz musicians have done what they do superbly, quite often expressing themselves beyond the narrows of color. As sensitive to the Americana of jazz as he is to its transcendent revelations about the sound of the human heart, Nat Hentoff is part of our American luck."--Stanley Crouch
""At the Jazz Band Ball" is full of nuggets from Nat's rich lode of wit and wisdom, gleaned in a lifetime of fellowship with jazz and its makers."--Dan Morgenstern, Director, Institute of Jazz Studies, Rutgers University; author of "Living With Jazz: A Reader"

Book Synopsis

Nat Hentoff, renowned jazz critic, civil liberties activist, and fearless contrarian-"I'm a Jewish atheist civil-libertarian pro-lifer"-has lived through much of jazz's history and has known many of jazz's most important figures, often as friend and confidant. Hentoff has been a tireless advocate for the neglected parts of jazz history, including forgotten sidemen and -women. This volume includes his best recent work-short essays, long interviews, and personal recollections. From Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong to Ornette Coleman and Quincy Jones, Hentoff brings the jazz greats to life and traces their art to gospel, blues, and many other forms of American music. At the Jazz Band Ball also includes Hentoff's keen, cosmopolitan observations on a wide range of issues. The book shows how jazz and education are a vital partnership, how free expression is the essence of liberty, and how social justice issues like health care and strong civil rights and liberties keep all the arts-and all members of society-strong.

From the Back Cover

"Nat Hentoff may very well be the foremost jazz historian in the world because he was there to witness firsthand the music's evolution from big band and swing to fusion and bossa nova; and to dive into the souls of the men and women who created it from Ellington, Basie, Miles, Ray Charles, Ella Fitzgerald and Dinah Washington, among many others. At the Jazz Band Ball: Sixty Years on the Jazz Scene is an invaluable archive of not only the musical influence of America's only indigenous music on the world, but its enormous impact as an engine for social change as well. It is a book that should be read by every young musician, music fan, and educator in America."--Quincy Jones

"The very best witnesses in the worlds of the law, aesthetic evaluation, social contexts of imposing significance, and artistic public performance are those who accurately understand what they have seen or what they are seeing. Nat Hentoff has been and continues to be a star witness in every one of those arenas. One of the greatest contributions of his jazz writing is that he has never felt the need to condescend to black people or to let the dictates of sociology diminish the universal significance of what they do when they do it well. Nat knows that so many jazz musicians have done what they do superbly, quite often expressing themselves beyond the narrows of color. As sensitive to the Americana of jazz as he is to its transcendent revelations about the sound of the human heart, Nat Hentoff is part of our American luck."--Stanley Crouch

"At the Jazz Band Ball is full of nuggets from Nat's rich lode of wit and wisdom, gleaned in a lifetime of fellowship with jazz and its makers."--Dan Morgenstern, Director, Institute of Jazz Studies, Rutgers University; author of Living With Jazz: A Reader

Review Quotes

"A celebration of the music and its practitioners and challenges those who would read jazz the last rights."-- "All About Jazz" (6/23/2010 12:00:00 AM)

"Hentoff comes off as the cool uncle who weaves fascinating stories about historical figures. . . . His life is jazz history."-- "Downbeat" (8/1/2010 12:00:00 AM)

"Hentoff is . . . an iconic jazz writer"--Brian Priestley "Jazzwise" (7/1/2011 12:00:00 AM)

"Much like the musicians he loves and admires and who have given him direction in his life, Nat Hentoff has his own voice. It is warmly personal, authoritative, sometimes curmudgeonly."-- "Jja News (Jazz Journalist Assoc)" (9/14/2010 12:00:00 AM)

"Opening doors for listening to and reading about jazz, this book will inform and entertain readers ranging from those who create jazz to neophyte listeners."--C.M. Weisenberg "Choice" (11/23/2010 12:00:00 AM)

"Reading Hentoff, who personally befriended many of jazz's most legendary creators and has witnessed personally many of its landmark moments, is akin to listening to war stories from a still-sharp old uncle--except that Hentoff's stories are better."-- "Jazz Times" (7/9/2010 12:00:00 AM)

About the Author

Nat Hentoff is an internationally known jazz critic and the only critic ever designated a Jazz Master by the NEA. He is a regular columnist for Jazz.com and the Wall Street Journal, the United Media Newspaper Syndicate, and the Cato Institute, where he is a senior fellow. His many books include Jazz Country; Jazz Is; The Jazz Life; Boston Boy: Growing Up with Jazz and Other Rebellious Passions; Living the Bill of Rights; and the forthcoming Is This America?