Jazz Anecdotes: Second Time Around - Book Report/Review Example

Crow, Bill. Jazz Anecdotes: Second Time Around. Oxford: Oxford Press, 2005. Print. , ISBN: 0195187954 When reading the book “Jazz Anecdotes” by Bill Crow gives the real picture about what some of the original jazz musicians experienced. The book first introduces what the jazz world really refers to. When someone reads on, several stories are revealed about struggle teaching and learning from one jazz musician to another, life on the road, discrimination and the success in jazz music. The book becomes more interesting from the various characters and their personalities.

After reading some of the stories in the book you end up coming up with a personal sense and the various career struggles in life. First, the jazz musicians did not understand reading music as most of them came from poor backgrounds and never bothered to learn. Despite the need to have good ears in listening to jazz music, illiteracy did not hinder people from succeeding in the music industry. One such example from the book is Erroll Garner who had good ears from childhood but never bothered to learn how to read (Crow 67).

He serves as the best example as it could only take him one moment to hear to certain music and thereafter learn the music. From the book, other personal experience was witnessed when jazz musician had the habit of drinking especially during most of their shows as they thought that they were just hip after realizing they could lose their art in mastering their instruments by becoming alcoholics. The Protestants were the first career struggles during the jazz world as they were in plenty. In 1921, some towns banned jazz as it was linked with alcohol and tobacco usage.

In addition, struggles among the jazz musicians faced other struggles in their music career such as search for better assistance like bandleaders, managers, promoters, club owners, publicists, and the record producers for the jazz musicians. The factors might have affected the band either directly or indirectly in their music and life. In the life of the jazz players, the players went through few struggles despite they had a sense of humor aimed at one another. The musicians had faced the real struggle which made them appreciate their mode of music and show some differences in their story (Crow 177).

Through the various stories of the jazz history, Crow introduces topic wise the arranged anecdotes for instance, some good lines from the book; “On the road”, “hiring and firing”, “beginnings” and “prejudice”. From the different lines, we learn the insights and the personalities of the jazz musicians. In the book there seems to be one-liners: For instance,”Shelley Manne gives his definition of what jazz music is through an interviewer. He asserts that, ‘We do not play anything in the same way once’.

We also engage in longer experiences of Juan Tizol and Charles Mingus in a fight on Ellington’s bandstand. We learn about the versions of Tizol and Mingus in their struggle as musicians. Through Mingus, we learn about the reveling recitation about what the Duke told him about their fight (Crow 234). He congratulated him for his marvelous performance which the Duke condemns him for failing to inform him about their progress in order to merge their score. More over, there are other two short section that focus on one or two most famous jazz musicians for instance Mingus, Armstrong, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Bessie Smith, Dizzy, Bird.

Waller, Eddie Condon plus many others. The book highlights lesser prominent jazz players such as Puma who was dropped at a small club in New York where Rainey Jim was working. From the book, we learn that the club was not operating at huge profits and there were fire departments which had the inscription ‘The occupancy of the place was unlawful as there were more than 116 people’. Jim is depicted to have added the words ‘and unlikely’ after the later inscription. This becomes the end of the most interesting anecdote experiences of the jazz musicians (Crow 387).

From the book, the life of the anecdotes is analyzed through their social and the historical insights. The book is blended in a more unique manner as it offers joys and the hardships that the musicians go through. This brings out the rare glimpse about the American jazz musicians personalities as the most distinctive music. We therefore acknowledge the book to be the greatest bibliography for jazz –related writings. There is no distinct picture but the information given is mixed with great humor.

The author does not just write but also is a freelancer musician in America. I can recommend the book for new readers. Work CitedCrow, Bill. Jazz Anecdotes: Second Time Around. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005. Print.