Bebop and Nothingness: Jazz and Bebop at the End of the Century

Bebop & Nothingness: Jazz & Bebop at the End of the Century

Arts & Photography

DAVIS, Francis

Music

Music Sales Corp

Explores the bebop legacy. Styles covered in these essays range from old-style swing to avant-garde free jazz, from gospel to klezmer, rock to American pop standards.

Bebop and Nothingness: Jazz and Pop at the End of the Century

Schirmer Trade Books

Written by an influential critic whose credits include Rolling Stone, The Boston Phoenix, The Atlantic, Downbeat and the Village Voice, this book celebrates the perseverance of jazz in an inhospitable decade. Francis Davis traces the rise of such entertaining jazz "baby boomers" as Wynton and Branford Marsalis, Anthony Davis, David Murray, Bobby McFerrin, Stanley Jordan, Craig Harris, and Billy Bang, without overlooking the continuing influence of such father figures as Ornette Coleman, Sonny Rollins, Miles Davis, George Russel, John Lewis, and Roscoe Mitchell. Some of the key themes are the low visibility of jazz in the mass media, the uneasy relationship of jazz to pop (and of singers to instrumental music), and the surprising--and welcome--emergence of the composeer as the pivotal figure in what has always been regarded as the improviser's realm. Although essentially a collection of artist profiles, In the Moment is shot through with the author's keen insights into the work of his subjects--and keen insights into their lives. The title describes the author's method of inquiry as well as the extemporaneous nature of the music he is writing about. He captures his favorite musicians in action or in reflection, at a given moment in time.

In the Moment: Jazz in the 1980s

Oxford University Press

Written by an influential critic who has contributed articles to Rolling Stone, The Boston Phoenix, The Atlantic, High Fidelity, and the Village Voice, this book celebrates the perseverence of jazz in an inhospitable decade. Francis Davis traces the rise of such enterprising jazz "baby boomers" as Wynton and Branford Marsalis, Anthony Davis, David Murray, Bobby McFerrin, Stanley Jordan, Craig Harris, and Billy Bang, and explores the continuing influence of such father figures as Ornette Coleman, Sonny Rollins, Miles Davis, George Russell, John Lewis, and Roscoe Mitchell. He includes discussions of the low visibility of jazz in the mass media, the uneasy relationship of jazz to pop, and the welcome emergence of the composer as the pivotal figure in what has traditionally been regarded as the improviser's realm.

With his essays on jazz for a variety of publications, including The Atlantic, 7 Days, and The Village Voice, Francis Davis has established himself as a major voice in jazz criticism. In the Moment, his first collection, published in 1986, won praise from both the jazz and general press. down beat called it "a collection as useful to future generations for how it captures this moment in musical evolution as for how it alters our vision now." The New York Times Book Review compared it to "a well-blown solo." In Outcats, Davis presents a new series of critical essays, artist profiles, and pieces that skillfully combine both modes. In the 1950s, Paul Knopf, a now forgotten and even then obscure pianist, coined the word "outcat" to describe himself as "an outcast and a far-out cat combined." In using a word originally meant to convey jubilant defiance, Davis recognizes its undertones of alienation and cultural exile. Some of his subjects are outcats because of their politics, drug problems, or musical iconoclasm. But Davis defines all jazz performers--"including the most famous, influential, and housebroken"--as outcats, by virtue of the scant recognition given them by contemporary society. Like In the Moment, Outcats is an indispensable guide to the best in recent and reissued jazz. Davis illuminates the unusual aspects of famous performers--Duke Ellington composing an opera, for example, or Miles Davis talking about his move into pop--while deftly analyzing their music. His subjects range from the mainstream to the experimental, from the familiar to the forgotten; from Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday, and Wynton Marsalis to Cecil Taylor, John Zorn, and Sun Ra. Whether challenging the portrayal of Charlie Parker in Bird or admitting to his own fondness for the rock singer Bobby Darin, Davis writes with wit, sensitivity, and candor. As Pauline Kael describes him, "He gets at what he responds to and why--you feel you're reading an honest man."

Outcats: Jazz Composers, Instrumentalists, and Singers

With his essays on jazz for a variety of publications, including The Atlantic, 7 Days, and The Village Voice, Francis Davis has established himself as a major voice in jazz criticism. In the Moment, his first collection, published in 1986, won praise from both the jazz and general press. down beat called it "a collection as useful to future generations for how it captures this moment in musical evolution as for how it alters our vision now." The New York Times Book Review compared it to "a well-blown solo." In Outcats, Davis presents a new series of critical essays, artist profiles, and pieces that skillfully combine both modes. In the 1950s, Paul Knopf, a now forgotten and even then obscure pianist, coined the word "outcat" to describe himself as "an outcast and a far-out cat combined." In using a word originally meant to convey jubilant defiance, Davis recognizes its undertones of alienation and cultural exile. Some of his subjects are outcats because of their politics, drug problems, or musical iconoclasm. But Davis defines all jazz performers--"including the most famous, influential, and housebroken"--as outcats, by virtue of the scant recognition given them by contemporary society. Like In the Moment, Outcats is an indispensible guide to the best in recent and reissued jazz. Davis illuminates the unusual aspects of famous performers--Duke Ellington composing an opera, for example, or Miles Davis talking about his move into pop--while deftly analyzing their music. His subjects range from the mainstream to the experimental, from the familiar to the forgotten; from Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday, and Wynton Marsalis to Cecil Taylor, John Zorn, and Sun Ra. Whether challenging the portrayal of Charlie Parker in Bird or admitting to his own fondness for the rock singer Bobby Darin, Davis writes with wit, sensitivity, and candor. As Pauline Kael describes him, "He gets at what he responds to and why--you feel you're reading an honest man."

Like Young: Jazz, Pop, Youth, and Middle Age

Da Capo Press

In the Moment traces the rise of such 1980s stars as Wynton and Branford Marsalis, Anthony Davis, David Murray, Bobby McFerrin, Stanley Jordan, and Billy Bang, while assessing the continuing influence of such father figures as Ornette Coleman, Sonny Rollins, Miles Davis, George Russell, John Lewis, and Roscoe Mitchell. In the process Francis Davis discusses the low visibility of jazz in the media, the uneasy relationship of jazz to pop, and the surprising emergence of the composer as the pivotal figure in what has always been regarded as the improviser's realm. Now updated with a new introduction, In the Moment is a superb companion to some of the best music and musicians of an eventful decade.

In The Moment

From Frank Sinatra to Sun Ra, from the jazz age to middle age, with thoughts on everything in-between, Francis Davis has been writing about American music and American culture for more than twenty years. His essays have appeared in The Atlantic Monthly, The New Yorker, and the Village Voice among countless other publications from coast to coast. And now, for the first time, here are his most important writings of his impressive career-the quintessential Davis on everything from why Rent set musicals back two decades, to what Ken Burns should have filmed. And Davis's writing is as enjoyable as the music of which he writes. The New York Times Book Review has compared Davis's work to "a well-blown solo."

Jazz And Its Discontents: A Francis Davis Reader

Biographies & Memoirs

Arts & Literature

Francis Davis is one of this nation's savviest and most admired music and cultural critics. In this collection of essays he observes the modern jazz and pop that have reached middle age at the same moment as many of their listeners, including the author. Moving through the scales from Frank Sinatra and Billie Holiday to Ornette Coleman and Sun Ra, he comments on music both old and new, on stage and screen. In addition to taking the pulse of jazz at the millennium, he offers fresh insights on pop icons like Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Burt Bacharach, and Brian Wilson. He also goes beyond character sketch and critical script to weave in fragments of his own life, making this the most personal of his collections. Like Young will resonate both with those who have spent two decades reading Davis and those who are discovering him today.

Like Young: Jazz, Pop, Youth, And Middle Age

History

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by DAVIS, Francis. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by DAVIS, Francis

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by DAVIS, Francis. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Bebop & Nothingness: Jazz & Bebop at the End of the Century

Bebop and Nothingness: Jazz and Pop at the End of the Century

In the Moment: Jazz in the 1980s

In the Moment: Jazz in the 1980s

Outcats: Jazz Composers, Instrumentalists, and Singers

Outcats: Jazz Composers, Instrumentalists, and Singers

Like Young: Jazz, Pop, Youth, and Middle Age

In The Moment

Jazz And Its Discontents: A Francis Davis Reader

Like Young: Jazz, Pop, Youth, And Middle Age