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An Innovative Look at the Defining Moments of Jazz Music is both a unifying force and a deeply personal expression of the self. Over the millennia, melody and lyrics have served as a multilayered mode of storytelling and expression of joy, sorrow, and hope. For America, no other musical style is quite so adept at this than jazz. Jazz: America's Gift delves into the rich and storied history of American jazz - from its roots in early American folk song and the blues into the sound and splendor of the Jazz Age. Not just another history book, Jazz: America's Gift is a unique and engaging exploration of the musical styles, traditions, innovations, and incredible talents that shaped jazz, and exposes how jazz itself shaped America's history, bringing the country closer together.
About the Author
"Jazz: America's Gift" Named to Kirkus Reviews' Best Books of 2015Kirkus Reviews Names ??Jazz: America's Gift" one of "The Best 2015 Indie Books That'll Get You Talking"??A lively . . . overview of jazz's origins. ' :Kirkus Reviews ??[H]istoric facts and figures about jazz with a fairly complete survey of its origins in slave songs, spirituals, minstrel shows, and Storyville flesh dens, as well as a chronicle of the rise of New Orleans trumpeter Louis Armstrong. ' :(BookLife) Publishers Weekly [Gerber] scores points with his bold commentary about the complicated political and cultural relationships between Jewish and black communities with regard to jazz. ' : (BookLife) Publishers Weekly??Gerber . . . links the raw power of jazz and the blues to the country's past of prejudice and racism. ' : (BookLife) Publishers Weekly ??Gerber's deft, energetic examination of Gershwin's music . . . illuminates" : (BookLife) Publishers Weekly ??Exceptionally well written . . .' : Midwest Book Review??Thoroughly ??reader-friendly' . . .' : Midwest Book Review??A must for all Jazz enthusiasts . . .' : Midwest Book Review??Very highly recommended . . .' : Midwest Book Review??Rewarding reading. ' : Midwest Book Review??Impressively informed and informative . . .' : Midwest Book ReviewAuthor Richie Gerber is a musician, performer, comedian, and impresario. Over the years, he has produced hundreds of jazz concerts that featured his band The Free Radicals, playing straight-ahead jazz, bebop, and swing with jazz greats like Eddie Higgins, former Count Basie alumnus Pete Minger, five-time Grammy nominee Ira Sullivan, and Buddy DeFranco. During Gerber's Brooklyn years, he created a solo street act called Alone on the Saxophone, which combined solo sax and stand-up comedy. In 1974, he moved to Maine with his Cuban-American wife, Julie. They moved and renovated a barn into a house and started an organic farm. All the while, Gerber continued to perform Alone on the Saxophone and began leading his newly formed band of Maine-iacs called The Compost Blues Boys. As Gerber's popularity in Maine grew, he caught the eye and ear of Maine humorist/artist/musician Tim Sample, leader of Tim Sample and the Dubious Brothers. Sample asked Gerber to join the band, and the rest, as they say, is Maine history. Also a talented artist, Sample designed the logo for Gerber's Alone on the Saxophone act, which is now Gerber's book-publishing logo. Gerber and his wife moved to Florida after realizing that Maine had only two seasons: winter and July. They quickly realized that Florida had only two seasons as well: summer and winter (which is exactly the same as summer, except it included lots of folks from Maine, trying to thaw out) . Upon arriving in sunny Florida, Gerber quickly got a gig in the Chip Hoehler Big Band, playing sax on the world's largest cruis
