The Jazz Anecdote, Essay Example

Introduction

Jazz Anecdote by Bill Crow highlights the life of jazz artists especially when they came together or went out for performances. The book shows the delight present when jazz artists get together, and their indulgence in story telling centered around remarkable and talented performers and singers the artists have had working relationships. One story leads to another and the laughter from the singers keeps growing as time passes until one of the artists implies that the stories need to written down for remembrance. The Jazz Anecdote draws on extremely rich musical and verbal tradition culled in the stories by Bill Crow. These stories have a variety of sources, which include biographies, interviews and immensely remarkable oral histories and historical collections. The stories in the book have been organized around topics that enable the reader to learn the life of a jazz artist, and discrimination and prejudice associated with jazz. This book has successfully shown the world the realities of the jazz world. In addition to the stories on life in jazz, Crow also highlights the life of other acclaimed jazz artists including Chet Baker, Benny Goodman, Paul Desmond and Buddy Rich. Additionally, he offers extended sections of other jazz favorites such as Duke Ellington, Lester Young and Coleman Hawkins (Crow 23). The stories in the jazz anecdote have a unique blend of social and historical insights and sparkling dialogue. The book and stories in the book delighted me, and they were fascinating.

In the book the Jazz Anecdote, Bill Crow compiles numerous stories that focus on the humor and personalities of the jazz world. Crow has a jazz background, and he is familiar with the jazz world. The book is filled with stories and hilarious goofs and pranks, which involved being, fired and hired and events and happenings in the jazz world while on the road (Crow 31). The book also has stories of the nicknames that the artists gave each other and the unforgettable moments while playing in the clubs and social events. The book also highlights the feel good life of jazz artists, the competitions, camaraderie, terrible working conditions and struggles over money.

The events in the books are outlines in stories, for instance, the band wanted to light a fire in the bus because of the biting cold. In another instance, Les Hite fired the entire band and later hired them instead of firing one person. During this instance, Hite would say, “I am breaking up my band, everybody’s fired,” and later say, “I want you, you and you in my new band” (Crow 43). According to Hite, this was the best way of firing a person from the band, instead of pointing or singling out a person. This happened to Dizzy when he was fired. In another instance, Basie’s band traveled to France, but they got the wrong interpreter. This ended up with misrepresentation of information, which in most cases ensued to arguments.

Conclusion

The book by Bill Crow is thought provoking as it tells the life of jazz artists and Crow’s inner circles. The book crucially highlights the life of other notable jazz artists and it provide a history of jazz through the artists. It gives readers insights into the operations of jazz and the bonding and works of the artists in an environment in which some of the artists were considered outsiders.

Work Cited

Crow, Bill. Jazz Anecdotes. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print.