The inspirational true story of an Allied POW appointed Kapellmeister to the Nazis in Auschwitz. When called up to fight in yet another World War, Drum Major Jackson promised his beloved wife Mabel that he would return to lead his band and play for her once more. In May 1940, he was captured at Dunkirk and interned in several German forced labour camps throughout Poland. Two years later he was transferred to Auschwitz IV, part of the notorious concentration camp complex where it is not widely known held Allied POWs. When his captors appointed Jackson their ‘Kapellmeister’ (man in charge of music), he seized the opportunity to provide entertainment for his fellow prisoners at rehearsals, and cover for escapees during concerts. Finally liberated in May 1945, malnourished and gravely ill, Jackson carried his secret war diary—an incredible exposé on five years of life and death in Nazi concentration camps. THE MUSIC MAKER OF AUSCHWITZ IV, based on Jackson’s diary, is written by his granddaughter. It is a thrilling testament to the resilience one man found in the darkest of times through his two greatest loves—music and the woman who waited for him.

To meet Freeman Vines is to meet America itself. An artist, a luthier and a spiritual philosopher, Vines' life is a roadmap of the truths and contradictions of the American South. He remembers the hidden histories of the eastern North Carolina land on which his family has lived since enslavement. For over 50 years Vines has transformed materials culled from a forgotten landscape in his relentless pursuit of building a guitar capable of producing a singular tone that has haunted his dreams. From tobacco barns, mule troughs, and radio parts he has created hand-carved guitars, each instrument seasoned down to the grain by the echoes of its past life. In 2015 Vines befriends photographer Timothy Duffy and the two begin to document the guitars, setting off a mutual outpouring of the creative spirit. But when Vines acquires a mysterious stack of wood from the site of a lynching, Vines and Duffy find themselves each grappling with the spiritual unrest and the psychic toll of racial violence living in the very grain of America.

Maka didn't talk much, but he loved to sing. Wherever he went, his beloved 'ukulele was by his side. And whenever he started to play and sing his song, "The Maka Shaka Shuffle," people would stop what they were doing and sing along¿ Point your thumb, now point your pinky. Shake it back and forth and give a little winky. It's the Maka Shaka Shuffle, oh yeah. The Maka Shaka Shuffle, uh huh. One day, a very big and very hungry pua'a entered his village and started chasing all his friends. Shy little Maka did the only thing he knew how and bravely saved his village from destruction. An audio CD with an original song by Domonic Vespoli, "Maka the Music Maker," and a reading by author Shannon Scott is included.

On May 8 1945, forty-six-year-old Drum Major Jackson staggered towards his American liberators. Emaciated, dressed in rags, his decayed boots held together with string, he’d been force-marched for twenty days over the Austrian Alps after five heinous years as a POW in Nazi labour camps. He collapsed into his liberators’ arms, clinging to his only meaningful possession—his war diary. Having already experienced the horrific nature of battle in the First World War, Jackson had now survived another War—unlike hundreds of his mates, who’d succumbed to disease, insanity, or had been killed in action. Men far younger than he. But he could never have imagined what awaited him on the home front. A captivating testament to human endurance, Jackson’s diary and photos, one of the last such memoirs to be published, is the inspiration for The Music Maker. An unforgettable and gripping true story about the life and times.

Hans Keller's text and Milein Cosman's vibrant illustrations combine to produce a unique and enlightening book on Stravinsky. Stravinsky the Music-Maker is the third incarnation of a book that has been greeted with superlatives on each previous appearance. Hans Keller and Milein Cosman collaborated down the decades of their married life, Keller'spen analysing music, Cosman's catching its makers at work. Stravinsky was a source of fascination for them both, and their Stravinsky at Rehearsal appeared in 1962, to be expanded, two decades later, as Stravinsky Seen and Heard. Stravinsky the Music-Maker offers the most generous compilation of their work yet: it includes Keller's complete articles on Stravinsky, written between 1954 and 1980, and augments Cosman's celebrated prints and drawings with a number not previously published. The introduction, by the composer Hugh Wood, sites the Keller-Cosman partnership in the framework of the British musical life they enriched. HANS KELLER (1919-85) fled Austria in1938 and became a commanding critical voice in British music journalism and on the BBC from the end of the war until his death. He is the author of numerous books, many illustrated by his wife Milein Cosman, including Criticism (Faber), The Great Haydn String Quartets (Dent), Essays on Music (CUP), Jerusalem Diary, Film Music and Beyond and Music and Psychology (all Plumbago). A critic of insight and integrity throughout his life, he remains a powerful influence to this day.

Immerse yourself in the universal language of music. Track Ron's lifelong pursuit as a musical director, arranger, performer and composer; read his rare articles on the subject of music and see inside the cutting-edge L. Ron Hubbard Music Studio.

Was this what it was like to be a rock star? Except that pop singers were usually followed by people, not cats.' In the middle of his languid holiday, idle young Ranji stumbles upon assorted musical instruments in the storeroom-first a shrill flute, then a blaring little trumpet and, finally, a too-big drum that may have once sounded a battle march. He stages impromptu concerts down the road, not sparing his neighbours, nor the cats around his porch, nor the peace-loving inhabitants of the zoo! But all Ranji's really seeking is a friend who'll hear the magic in his din. A lyrical and stunningly illustrated offering from India's favourite teller of tales, this is a sunny story about forging bonds and the simple joys of life.

Thirty-two composers, conductors, performers, scholars, patrons, critics and others integrally involved in the American classical music milieu offer perceptions, criticisms and praise in assessing the music world and their experiences.

America tells its stories through song. Consolation to the lovelorn, courage to the oppressed, warning to the naive, or a ticket to the Promised Land, a great song can deliver the wisdom of ages directly to our souls. We Are the Music Makers! presents black-and-white portraits of artists who carry these songs from past to present: fathers and mothers, uncles and aunts, daughters and sons, grandparents and neighbors, who continue to lovingly stir the South's musical stew and feed American culture outside the realm of conventional fame and fortune. Newly available in paperback, this book features intimate photographs that will make you look more closely at the unrecognized greatness that surrounds us all.

The Music Producer's Handbook, Second Edition reveals the secrets to becoming a music producer and producing just about any kind of project in any genre of music. Among the topics covered are the producer's multiple responsibilities and all the elements involved in a typical production, including budgeting, contracts, selecting the studio and engineer, hiring session musicians, and even getting paid. Unlike other books on production, The Music Producer's Handbook also covers the true mechanics of production, from analyzing, troubleshooting, and fixing a song that isn't working to getting the best performance and sound out of a band or vocalist. In addition, Bobby Owsinski tackles what may be the toughest part of being a producer – being a diplomat, a confidant, and an amateur psychologist all at once. This edition also includes new chapters on self-production, small studio production, and how the new songwriter-producer and engineer-producer hybrids make money in our new digital music world. It also features several new interviews with some of the best-selling producers from different musical genres, who offer advice on getting started, getting paid, and making hits. Packed with inside information and including exclusive online media, The Music Producer's Handbook, Second Edition provides invaluable tools and advice that will help beginners and seasoned professionals alike. Item includes online resource.