Takes a look at the musical and personal influences that inspired some of the most celebrated women of jazz and blues, including Cassandra Wilson, Ethel Waters, and Ella Fitzgerald.

Product Description: Detailed descriptions of the wedding customs of the Hopi, Lakota, Iroquois, Oglala and others include specific ways to incorporate aspects of these traditions through ceremony, dress, food, and jewelry into today's modern weddings.

Presents a biography of the Cuban-born singer and composer.

Product Description: In the first, full-length biography of this masterful trumpeter, composer, and founder of Jazz at Lincoln Center, Leslie Gourse reveals the private side of one of the most talented and controversial figures in music today.

Traces the evolution of the guitar in jazz history and profiles the world's greatest jazz guitarists from the early 1900s to the present.

Discusses the life and musical career of the African American trumpet player known for his performances of popular jazz and classical music

Discusses the role of drumming in jazz and surveys some of the greatest jazz drummers in history, from Warren Baby Dodds and Arthur Zutty Singleton to Tony Williams and Elvin Jones

Describes the lives of notable jazz singers, traces their influence on one another, and investigates the impact of different innovators on the development of jazz music

Presents the lives and artistry of notable jazz bassists, traces their influence on one another, and investigates the impact of various innovations on the development of jazz music

Describes the lives and artistry of some of the best-known jazz horn players, traces their influence on one another, and investigates the impact of different innovators on the development of jazz music

Describes the lives and artistry of some of the best-known jazz pianists, traces their influence on one another, and investigates the impact of different innovators on the development of jazz music

Product Description: Carmen McRae (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

Product Description: Louis Armstrong pioneered the jazz vocal. Based on dozens of interviews, this book provides a comprehensive overview of the diverse performers who inherited Satchmo's legacy and made it their own. They are Ethel Waters, Bing Crosby, Bobby McFerrin, Cab Calloway, Big Joe Turner, Billie Holiday, Nat "King" Cole, Joe Williams, Dinah Washington, Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Carmen McRae, Tony Bennett, and many others...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

A comprehensive look at female jazz instrumentalists includes interviews with rising stars and veterans and discusses the rewards and challenges facing women musicians today. (view table of contents)

Discusses Nat King Cole, whose satin voice belied his rough life, detailing his Alabama boyhood, his marriages, his revolutionary jazz piano style, and his struggles with prejudice and hatred (view table of contents)

Product Description: Detailed descriptions of the wedding customs of the Hopi, Lakota, Iroquois, Oglala and others include specific ways to incorporate aspects of these traditions through ceremony, dress, food, and jewelry into today's modern weddings.

(view table of contents)

A biography of Jim Henson, the famous puppeteer and creator of the Muppets. (view table of contents)

Discusses the role of drumming in jazz and surveys some of the greatest jazz drummers in history, from Warren Baby Dodds and Arthur Zutty Singleton to Tony Williams and Elvin Jones (view table of contents)

Product Description: From her roots as a young gospel singer in her father's Detroit Baptist Church, Aretha Franklin rose to become one of the most widely acclaimed singers of our time. This book tells of her struggles within the music industry, recounts her personal trials and triumphs, and details the reasons she is known today as "Lady Soul"...read more

Examines the life of the Indian princess Pocahontas and her contact with English settlers, especially John Smith

Describes the life and musical career of the popular jazz musician and trumpeter (view table of contents)

Product Description: During a career spanning over 50 years, jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald won 13 Grammy Awards. This volume collects together interviews, articles and reviews, telling the story of Ella's orphan childhood, how she was discovered in Harlem, and her rise to the highest-paid jazz singer in the world...read more

Music/Jazz BiographyFirst English-language biography of a legendary and compelling jazz artist.Thelonious Monk was one of jazz's legendary figures, whose life story has yet to be told. Pianist and bandleader, he led the legendary jam sessions at Harlem's Minton's Playhouse where, along with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, he helped mold the nascent style of bebop. Monk's composition 'Round Midnight; Straight, No Chaser; Blue Monk; Misterioso; Rhythm-a-ning; and countless others have become classics in the jazz repertoire. Monk's piano playing was so unique that it has been widely emulated and praised, but never equaled. His personal life was also unique, including a long battle with depression and mental illness that finally led to his total withdrawal from recording and music making years before his tragic death. This book tells Monk's story based on first-hand interviews with the musicians who worked with him, along with the participation of his son, T.S., and other family members. It discusses both his musical and personal lives in frank detail, and illuminates one of the most important jazz player's of our time. Leslie Gourse is a well-known authority and writer on jazz. Her books have been widely praised, including Sassy: The Biography of Sarah Vaughan; Unforgettable: The Life and Mystique of Nat King Cole; and Madame Jazz. She has been awarded an ASCAP award for her journalism. Additionally, she writes regularly on jazz for both specialty journals and popular newspapers and magazines, including The New York Times, Christian Science Monitor, Village Voice, Boston Globe, Jazz Times, Harper's Bazaar, Elle, New York, Cosmopolitan, and many others. She has written liner notes for many jazz labels. (view table of contents)