NEW BOOK BY DAVE HUNT COMING SOON
This work focuses on little-recognized and forgotten works – many by name artists – that, for one reason or another, have gotten buried in the deluge of recordings released by the record labels over the years. Unearthing and bringing them back into the listener spotlight has been a special mission for Dave. The artists in the spotlight are saxists Stan Getz, Benny Carter, Joe Farrell, John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman and Archie Shepp; trumpeters Kenny Dorham, Booker Little and Thad Jones; drummers Elvin Jones and Philly Joe Jones.
A chapter on each player offers an overview of his career as well as an in-depth look at the various circumstances that combined to keep his most appealing work from getting the attention it merits. The author also views the technical and artistic attributes of each player's music and how it affected his success at various stages of his career. On that basis, the artist’s most satisfying performances are evaluated, period by period and CD by CD, as well as the conditions under which they occurred.
Because books on the forgotten recordings of highly valued jazz artists are not common, Dave explains why he wrote this one: “Between 1950 and 1980, the jazz market became been flooded with releases, and, of course, the labels promoted only those recordings that had the greatest commercial potential. That's because no label, major or independent, ever fully realized how to market and sell artistic releases. As a result, if a label did not send a promo copy of a recording to radio stations, jazz magazines and major metro area newspapers, it did not receive the kind of attention it may have been due.
“Jazz Treasures Unearthed hones in on the disregarded and underappreciated works of 11 musicians playing three of jazz’ most important instruments. Another goal of the book is to enable committed listeners to upgrade their musical knowledge. Rather than a mere repetition of extensive biographical facts that can readily be found elsewhere, Jazz Treasures is about the essence of the music.”
The book’s appendices cover several subjects:
- A consideration of how to get more out the elusive jazz art form
- An explanation of rhythm-dominated and speech-inflected approaches to jazz and how to appreciate them both
- A re-examination of the musical elements of jazz performance through sorting out the complexities
All jazz listeners desiring more musical enjoyment from the art will find Jazz Treasures Unearthed an essential work in discovering, or even rediscovering, some of the finest buried performances from the past. Even longtime, established enthusiasts will undoubtedly uncover some great, forgotten tracks of the past to enhance and enrich their present-day listening experience.
304 pages; 8.5 x 11; 11 b&w full-page photos by Chuck Stewart and Jan Persson; artist index; published by Cranston Publications
FREE PUBLISHER DOWNLOAD: Kenny Dorham chapter