Rating: 
Summary: A Pulitzer Prize for Levinson
Review: At last a biography that reads like a novel. From the first page this book pulls in the reader. I relived an era that took place long before my birth. Harry James is a musical legend hard to capture in written word. Levinson did just that. After a tearful farewell to Harry I watched "Springtime in the Rockies".
Rating: 
Summary: Attention Swing Music Fans!
Review: For those of you who want to know just what Swing Music was all about,"Trumpet Blues" is the story of one of the most important figures of that era.
Rating:
Summary: A needed and superb biography of a titan
Review: Harry James was a titan of the trumpet and Big Bands. We have sorely needed a biography, and I think that this first biography is absolutely superb. Harry James has always been my #1 favorite. "Trumpet Blues" confirms for me James' extraordinary musical contributions but also fleshes out his story with a rich, full treatment of the realities - both good and bad - of his professional and personal lives. Included are excellent materials on his grand musical history, his first wife, the appealing singer Louise Tobin, and his second wife, the marvelous Betty Grable. I came away from the book with a much different and far more realistic vision of Harry James than I had going in - that he indeed was a musical giant (he is still my #1 favorite) but that he also was a human being with his share of personal flaws and imperfections to go with his fine qualities. I am glad that "Trumpet Blues" is here and that I read it.
Rating:
Summary: A needed and superb biography of a titan
Review: Harry James was a titan of the trumpet and Big Bands. We have sorely needed a biography, and I think that this first biography is absolutely superb. Harry James has always been my #1 favorite. "Trumpet Blues" confirms for me James' extraordinary musical contributions but also fleshes out his story with a rich, full treatment of the realities - both good and bad - of his professional and personal lives. Included are excellent materials on his grand musical history, his first wife, the appealing singer Louise Tobin, and his second wife, the marvelous Betty Grable. I came away from the book with a much different and far more realistic vision of Harry James than I had going in - that he indeed was a musical giant (he is still my #1 favorite) but that he also was a human being with his share of personal flaws and imperfections to go with his fine qualities. I am glad that "Trumpet Blues" is here and that I read it.
Rating:
Summary: Harry James...virtuoso
Review: Having been a trumpet player and Harry James fan for many years, I was delighted to read Trumpet Blues. It was a sorely needed account of a fabulous technician and musician. A great book, very complete, though I yearned for a little more in the way of comments regarding Harry's technical approach. There is a nice treatment of Harry's sweet balladry which drew criticism from the jazz quarter. Because Harry could sell records by making his trumpet almost speak, as in 'If I Loved You' and 'Sleepy Lagoon' he was thought to be 'too commercial'. What the critics failed to note, or to even hear, was the emotion in the horn. 'Mona Lisa' was no less a work than his swing and jazz playing. His high 'e' entrance in 'If I Loved You' was astonishing. Pick up this book if you are a trumpet player or a music buff. Well done!
Rating: 
Summary: TRUMPET BLUES
Review: Having known Harry James from 1963 on, as well as being a professional player myself, I enjoyed the book tremendously. There are a couple of glaring inaccuracies however. One was the statement that Harry's solo on "Shine" was left out of the "Benny Goodman Story" just isn't so. I have the movie, and it's in it. Another was the reference to the get-well card signed by all of the top trumpet players in Hollywood to Harry. The author stated that Conrad Gozzo signed it. That would have been a neat trick, because Goz pre-deceased Harry by almost 20 years. All in all, however, it was a good read. I recommend it to all who are interested in this titan of trumpet swing. Tony Horowitz
Rating:
Summary: TRUMPET BLUES
Review: Having known Harry James from 1963 on, as well as being a professional player myself, I enjoyed the book tremendously. There are a couple of glaring inaccuracies however. One was the statement that Harry's solo on "Shine" was left out of the "Benny Goodman Story" just isn't so. I have the movie, and it's in it. Another was the reference to the get-well card signed by all of the top trumpet players in Hollywood to Harry. The author stated that Conrad Gozzo signed it. That would have been a neat trick, because Goz pre-deceased Harry by almost 20 years. All in all, however, it was a good read. I recommend it to all who are interested in this titan of trumpet swing. Tony Horowitz
Rating:
Summary: My book is about to go into its third printing.
Review: I am very pleased at the wonderful reviews I have received for my book. I especially have enjoyed the various comments from readers of my book. Please keep them coming!
Rating:
Summary: Artie Shaw had it right: DEPRESSING!
Review: I met Harry in 1974, when I was 14, in between sets at the South Shore Music Circus. He had two trumpet cases, one for his horns and another for something clear he was drinking. As a young trumpet player, he was my idol, and musically still is. The accompanying CD to this bio has some terrific releases on it, but would have been even better had they included "Countin," "One on the House," "Blues for Harry's Sake," and "Bangtail," the key charts from his great comeback band.As much as I always wanted to read an account of his life, however, I'm almost sorry I did. Now I know what the clear liquid was, and how badly it tormented the greatest trumpet player ever. The book is interesting, but we still need an account of Harry's super-human technique. What bore did he use on his King, and how did that bore, which I've heard was the largest they ever constructed, mesh with the tiny Parduba mouthpiece. What mouthpiece did he learn on when he was building his chops on circus music, the hardest music in the world? And how on earth did he ever manage to perform at such a high level for 45 years with his lifestyle, is unanswered here. Playing at his level after a fifth of bourbon just doesn't seem credible, although if he could drink Phil Harris under the table maybe it was. There is likewise no evidence presented to justify the physical abuse charge levelled against Everette, save for the rapped on the knuckles vignette Harry told to Merv Griffin. There are other munched nuances as well: Harry is placed at Reagan's second inaugural, even though he would have been dead for a year and a half then. It would have been interesting to hear more from FS, Jr., as well. Artie Shaw had it right in this jacket blurb: this is a horribly depressing story. Harry, when I finished it, I cried for you.
Rating:
Summary: Artie Shaw had it right: DEPRESSING!
Review: I met Harry in 1974, when I was 14, in between sets at the South Shore Music Circus. He had two trumpet cases, one for his horns and another for something clear he was drinking. As a young trumpet player, he was my idol, and musically still is. The accompanying CD to this bio has some terrific releases on it, but would have been even better had they included "Countin," "One on the House," "Blues for Harry's Sake," and "Bangtail," the key charts from his great comeback band. As much as I always wanted to read an account of his life, however, I'm almost sorry I did. Now I know what the clear liquid was, and how badly it tormented the greatest trumpet player ever. The book is interesting, but we still need an account of Harry's super-human technique. What bore did he use on his King, and how did that bore, which I've heard was the largest they ever constructed, mesh with the tiny Parduba mouthpiece. What mouthpiece did he learn on when he was building his chops on circus music, the hardest music in the world? And how on earth did he ever manage to perform at such a high level for 45 years with his lifestyle, is unanswered here. Playing at his level after a fifth of bourbon just doesn't seem credible, although if he could drink Phil Harris under the table maybe it was. There is likewise no evidence presented to justify the physical abuse charge levelled against Everette, save for the rapped on the knuckles vignette Harry told to Merv Griffin. There are other munched nuances as well: Harry is placed at Reagan's second inaugural, even though he would have been dead for a year and a half then. It would have been interesting to hear more from FS, Jr., as well. Artie Shaw had it right in this jacket blurb: this is a horribly depressing story. Harry, when I finished it, I cried for you.
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