<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: an absolutely great book
Review: If you are interested in the history of Jazz, this is one of the books that is essential to your collection. It's not only a great biography about an unusual but talented man, it's the story of a man who stood at the divide between swing and bop, who was a cruel band leader but who nurtured some of the great talents that followed him, who never really mastered bop but whose vision and band format was the foundation that made bop possible. Goodman was apparently a hard man to like, and this biography squarely faces his difficult personality. He was also a genius, and incredibly hard working. This book does a good job both of telling the story of Goodman's life and the context of his music. There are many compelling anecdotes, and the story is engrossingly told.
Rating:
Summary: Good Jazz History - Great Biography
Review: If you are interested in the history of Jazz, this is one of the books that is essential to your collection. It's not only a great biography about an unusual but talented man, it's the story of a man who stood at the divide between swing and bop, who was a cruel band leader but who nurtured some of the great talents that followed him, who never really mastered bop but whose vision and band format was the foundation that made bop possible. Goodman was apparently a hard man to like, and this biography squarely faces his difficult personality. He was also a genius, and incredibly hard working. This book does a good job both of telling the story of Goodman's life and the context of his music. There are many compelling anecdotes, and the story is engrossingly told.
Rating:
Summary: an absolutely great book
Review: my interest in goodman was sparked by the ken burns documentary series on jazz, and firestone's biography really filled the bill for me. i've read other biographies of great jazz figures since, but none of them come close to this one. great not only for information about goodman but about the entire swing era and its decline. goodman had his negative points, as firestone points out, but ultimately he was a triumphant and inspiring figure.
Rating:
Summary: This is the definitive Benny bio
Review: So many people love Benny Goodman's music, but know so little about the man himself. Hopefully, all of you Benny aficionados will take a crack at this excellent, well-written biography. Firestone has done copious amounts of research, interviewed many people close to BG and has produced an absolutely definitive look at the King of Swing. From cradle to grave, this provides readers with information on Benny as a musician and also as a(oftentimes difficult) human being. If you want a detailed musical analysis of Goodman, you will find it here, but there is also a gossip-y element which adds considerable spice. Firestone illuminates Goodman's jazz beginnings, the early sidemen gigs in the 20's and then the genesis of the Swing band in the mid-30's. It was great to have thumbnail portraits of the great musicians Benny's early bands, they're all here: the frenetic, pot-loving Gene Krupa, the arrogant Harry James, the gentle Teddy Wilson and the phenomenal Lionel Hampton. At the core is Goodman himself, an extremely hard task master, perfectionist and driven man. Firestone details how nit-picky Benny could be, demanding take after take on various album cuts until it all sounded "perfect." Goodman's notorious cheapskate ways are also detailed. If you love Goodman's music, then treat yourself to discovering what Goodman was like behind the scenes: difficult, ambitious and addicted to prescription pain killers in later years. Yet despite it all, who could swing like this man? No one.
Rating:
Summary: The definitive work about Benny
Review: This is really the only bio to get of BG. Collier's book "BG And The Swing Era" perpetrates many myths and inaccuracies, mainly because he seems to have this fear about going to primary sources and seems to get a lot of his information off album sleeves and from 12th-hand anecdotes. Firestone's book uncovers some interesting facts, about Benny's flirtation and near-marriage to singer Helen Ward, about the recording of the famous Carnegie Hall concert (contrary to popular myth, there was more than one overhead mike turned on that night, and the band knew they were being recorded) and Benny's near emotional breakdowns in the 50s and 60s and his near total dependence on painkillers and other medications (for a chronic bad back) that also may have altered his personality and brought on some of the bizarre behavior Goodman is infamous for. Briskly-written, filled with surprises, a fascinating read, it should be on the shelf of every jazz fan and big band enthusiast.
<< 1 >>
| 
