Through in-depth analysis, detailed transcriptions and album references, author John Ramsay gives us an insider's view of Art Blakey's unique drumming style. The book includes examples of Art's philosophies and wisdom as told by some of the great alumni of the Jazz Messengers.

Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers was one of the most enduring, popular, reliable and vital small bands in modern jazz history. Blakey was not only a distinguished, inventive and powerful drummer, but along with Duke Ellington and Miles Davis, he was one of jazz's foremost talent scouts. The musicians who flowed seamlessly in and out of this constantly evolving collective during its 36-year run were among the most important artists not just of their eras, but of any era. Though their respective innovations were vital to the evolution of bebop, hard bop and neo bop, the recorded work of the Messengers sidemen has never been properly analyzed. Until now. Hard Bop Academy: The Sidemen of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers critically examines the multitude of gifted artists who populated the many editions of the Jazz Messengers. In addition to dissecting the sidemen's most consequential work with Blakey's band, jazz musician and acclaimed novelist Alan Goldsher offers up engaging profiles of everyone from Wynton Marsalis to Terence Blanchard to Hank Mobley to Wayne Shorter to Horace Silver to Keith Jarrett to Curtis Fuller to Steve Davis. And that's only the beginning. Goldsher conducted over 30 interviews with surviving graduates of Blakey's Hard Bop Academy, many of whom spoke at length of their tenure with the legendary "Buhaina" for the first time. Alan Goldsher is a bassist who has recorded with Janet Jackson, Digable Planets, Cypress Hill and Naughty By Nature. His writing has been published in Bass Player, Tower Pulse, Sport and BasketBull: Chicago Bulls Magazine. Goldsher's debut novel, Jam, was published in 2002 by Permanent Press. He lives in Chicago. Hardcover.

Baroness Pannonica de Koenigswarter befriended many of jazz greats of the thriving New York jazz scene in the 1950s, 60s and 70s. In the 1960s, she began a project: She asked 300 jazz musicians what their three wishes in life were. Their responses are collected in this volume, available in English for the first time, and are accompanied by hundreds of candid photographs.--From cover, p. [4].

Alan Dawson was a legendary drummer and educator, known for his work with the top artists in jazz as well as for his 18-year association with Berklee College of Music. This new text and online audio combination was put together by John Ramsay, a prominent drummer in his own right and a former student of Dawson's. The book contains all the important techniques and concepts that Alan Dawson embraced in his own playing and subsequently taught to his students. The recordings include some remastered audio examples from actual lessons taught by Dawson himself over the years. This is a highly comprehensive textbook from a jazz master.

(Percussion). The Cymbal Book is the first book of its kind. It details the 5000-year history and development of these fascinating instruments. Based on visits to all the major cymbal manufacturing companies and interviews with the world's leading drummers, journalist and drummer Hugo Pinksterboer has created a well-documented and readable book, featuring over 200 photos. It covers topics such as selection and testing, acoustics, ideas for set-ups, cleaning, and repair, and much, much more. Whether read for enjoyment or used as a specific reference guide, The Cymbal Book will answer every question on this subject.

Notes and Tones is one of the most controversial, honest, and insightful books ever written about jazz. As a black musician himself, Arthur Taylor was able to ask his subjects hard questions about the role of black artists in a white society. Free to speak their minds, these musicians offer startling insights into their music, their lives, and the creative process itself. This expanded edition is supplemented with previously unpublished interviews with Dexter Gordon and Thelonious Monk, a new introduction by the author, and new photographs.Notes and Tones consists of twenty-nine no-holds-barred conversations which drummer Arthur Taylor held with the most influential jazz musicians of the ’60s and ’70s—including:

(Book). In various interviews over the past 35 years Charlie Watts has expressed admiration for the talents of many drummers. But the fundamental connections of those he has noted as his favorites, help define his particular style, approach, and priorities as the drummer for the "Greatest Rock & Roll Band in the World." Here then, are 26 biographies of Charlie Watts' favorites drummers. Included are Art Blakey, Chico Hamilton, Art Taylor, Phil Seamen, Ginger Baker, Jerry Allison, Papa Jo Jones, Jim Keltner, Kenny Clarke, Davey Tough, Billy Higgins, Elvin Jones, Roy Haynes, Jake Hanna, Tony Williams, Max Roach, Joe Morello, and Big Sid Catlett.

Presents the essential elements of bop drumming demonstrated through concise exercises and containing ideas to help understand what to play and how to play it and why, as well as an explanation of how the drummer functions in a group.

Jazz from Detroit explores the city’s pivotal role in shaping the course of modern and contemporary jazz. With more than two dozen in-depth profiles of remarkable Detroit-bred musicians, complemented by a generous selection of photographs, Mark Stryker makes Detroit jazz come alive as he draws out significant connections between the players, eras, styles, and Detroit’s distinctive history. Stryker’s story starts in the 1940s and ’50s, when the auto industry created a thriving black working and middle class in Detroit that supported a vibrant nightlife, and exceptional public school music programs and mentors in the community like pianist Barry Harris transformed the city into a jazz juggernaut. This golden age nurtured many legendary musicians—Hank, Thad, and Elvin Jones, Gerald Wilson, Milt Jackson, Yusef Lateef, Donald Byrd, Tommy Flanagan, Kenny Burrell, Ron Carter, Joe Henderson, and others. As the city’s fortunes change, Stryker turns his spotlight toward often overlooked but prescient musician-run cooperatives and self-determination groups of the 1960s and ’70s, such as the Strata Corporation and Tribe. In more recent decades, the city’s culture of mentorship, embodied by trumpeter and teacher Marcus Belgrave, ensured that Detroit continued to incubate world-class talent; Belgrave protégés like Geri Allen, Kenny Garrett, Robert Hurst, Regina Carter, Gerald Cleaver, and Karriem Riggins helped define contemporary jazz. The resilience of Detroit’s jazz tradition provides a powerful symbol of the city’s lasting cultural influence. Stryker’s 21 years as an arts reporter and critic at the Detroit Free Press are evident in his vivid storytelling and insightful criticism. Jazz from Detroit will appeal to jazz aficionados, casual fans, and anyone interested in the vibrant and complex history of cultural life in Detroit.

Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman, and Cecil Taylor revolutionized music from the end of the twentieth century into the twenty-first, expanding on jazz traditions with distinctly new concepts of composition, improvisation, instrumentation, and performance. Miles, Ornette, Cecil is the first book to connect these three icons of the avant-garde, examining why they are lionized by some critics and reviled by others, while influencing musicians across such divides as genre, geography, and racial and ethnic backgrounds.