Monday, December 20, 2004
Book Alert
Weather Bird
Jazz at the Dawn
of Its Second Century
By Gary Giddins
OXFORD UNIVERSITY; 632 PAGES; $35
"Weather Bird clears the decks, and it's not always pretty. The subtitle tells the story. Reading between the lines of where Giddins locates jazz in its second century, it becomes clear why he no longer wants to cover the music, regularly, in real time. It's because here, in 2004, there's not much there there. Jazz has become a music of the past, and as opposed to fighting that trend, as he bravely attempted to do for 20 years or so, Giddins is now joining it. Only he's doing it his way, which is to write about history. With no gods looming to take jazz into the future, what else is there for a writer of Giddins' insight and ambition to do?"
("Is Jazz Dead? A Critic Takes Comfort in History", by David Rubien)
¶ 12/20/2004 03:34:00 PM
Weather Bird
Jazz at the Dawn
of Its Second Century
By Gary Giddins
OXFORD UNIVERSITY; 632 PAGES; $35
"Weather Bird clears the decks, and it's not always pretty. The subtitle tells the story. Reading between the lines of where Giddins locates jazz in its second century, it becomes clear why he no longer wants to cover the music, regularly, in real time. It's because here, in 2004, there's not much there there. Jazz has become a music of the past, and as opposed to fighting that trend, as he bravely attempted to do for 20 years or so, Giddins is now joining it. Only he's doing it his way, which is to write about history. With no gods looming to take jazz into the future, what else is there for a writer of Giddins' insight and ambition to do?"
("Is Jazz Dead? A Critic Takes Comfort in History", by David Rubien)
¶ 12/20/2004 03:34:00 PM
