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While working on my doctorate, I discovered that I really like to write about music and music history. My doctoral dissertation led to a number of journal articles, and finally, a book, Duke's 'Bones: Ellington's Great Trombonists. This book received some wonderful reviews. It also won the German Music Publishers' Award for my publisher, Advance Music, which was founded by my friend the late Hans Gruber and is run by his wife (and also dear friend) Veronika. You may wish to see all of Advance's catalog. It is easiest to order the book from Caris Music Services, or from amazon.com. |
| In a relatively long period of insanity, I decided to follow up Duke's 'Bones with another book, a history of jazz trombone. I diligently worked on that book for quite a few years. Jazz 'Bones: The World of Jazz Trombone was published late in 2005 by the good folks at Advance Music. Any of you who are hard-core trombone history fanatics, I think that you will really want to own this book. As I write this, only one review has come out, with others to follow. The "scuttlebutt" in the trombone world has been excellent. This book is a monster -- over 600 pages. There is a lot to read and enjoy. This, too, can be purchased at Caris Music Services or Jamey Aebersold. |  |
I have been reviewing books for CHOICE since the early 1980s. I have had the great good fortune of reviewing some of the most important jazz books that have been published in the last twenty years. I thank the people at CHOICE for this opportunity. This has not only been intrinsically interesting, but it has also kept me up to date with the latest literature in my field of research. Among those gems that they have sent my way have been:
For many years I have also been reviewing recordings for the International Trombone Association Journal. While my research has generally been in jazz, the ITA keeps me up with the world of "legit" trombone by sending me recordings mostly of trombone soloists or brass chamber groups, although I have also reviewed recordings by euphonium and tuba players, as well as jazz.
I also contributed three articles to the International Dictionary of Black Composers. This excellent reference book (published 1999) was put together by the people at the Center for Black Music Research at Columbia College in Chicago and published by Fitzroy Dearborn. My entries were the composer and works articles on Thad Jones and Juan Tizol and the works article on J. J. Johnson. I had the great pleasure of talking with J. J. in the preparation of the article about him.
Most of my published articles are included in some form or another in Duke's 'Bones. However, if you wish to find out about what has appeared in Black Music Research Journal, Annual Review of Jazz Studies, or IAJE Research Papers, let me know.