This conversation is hosted by JJA Board Member and Chair of our Book Committee, Bob Blumenthal. Bob, along with JJA members Fiona Ross, Todd Jenkins and Katch Cartwright, share some of their book recommendations for you to consider for those on your 2025 holiday nice list. Maybe a few of the naughty people deserve some of these, too. 

The JJA’s book committee votes on Book Award nominees everyJanuary and February. The recommendations herein do not reflect any prejudgments by the committee nor should this episode be taken as any preview of what's to come with the awards. 

Here is your shopping list of books and music discussed in this episode:

Books Discussed in Detail

1. Writing Jazz: Conversations with Critics and Biographers by Sasha Feinstein
2. Guide to Jazz in Japan by Michael Pronko
3. Focus on Women in Jazz by Guy le Querrec
4. The Story of Jazz by Marshall Stearns 
5. Jazz: Its Evolution and Essence by André Hodeir
6. The Life and Writings of Ralph J. Gleason: Dispatches from the Front by Don Armstrong
7. Going Back to T-Town: The Ernie Fields Territory Big Band by Carmen Fields
8. Master of the Drums: Gene Krupa and the Music He Gave the World by Elizabeth J. Rosenthal 
9. Cross Rhythms: An Introspective into the Life and Musicality of Joe Chambers by Joe Chambers and Cristian Schorr
10. Oceans of Time: The Musical Autobiography of Billy Hart by Billy Hart and Ethan Iverson
11. The Jazz Barn: The Music Inn, the Berkshires, and the Place of Jazz in American Life by John Gennari
12. Becoming Ella Fitzgerald by Judith Tick
13. Stomp Off, Let's Go: The Early Years of Louis Armstrong by Ricky Riccardi
14. Song for Someone: The Musical Life of Kenny Wheeler by Brian Shaw and Nick Smart
15. Sax Expat: The Biography of Don Byas by Con Chapman
16. Black Mystery School Pianists and Other Writings by Matthew Shipp
17. Run the Song: Writing About Running, About Listening by Ben Ratliff

Books Referenced

1. Sophisticated Giant by Maxine Gordon (about Dexter Gordon)
2. Gene Krupa: His Life and Times by Bruce Crowther
3. Rhythm Man: Chick Webb and the Beat that Changed America by Stephanie Stein Crease
4. The Swing Era by Gunther Schuller 

Albums Referenced 

1. Friday and Saturday Night at the Blackhawk by Miles Davis (includes essay by Ralph J. Gleason)
2. Dizzy on the French Riviera by Dizzy Gillespie (includes essay by Ralph J. Gleason)

The Jazz Omnibus is on sale now at 25% off. This 600-page anthology features 21st-century photos and writings by JJA members. Details at: bit.ly/jja25

If you're a media-maker working in jazz, the JJA is offering first-time members a special rate of $50. Join a community of colleagues telling all the stories of jazz. Sign up at members.jazzjournalists.org/join

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