Ira Gitler's writing has helped illuminate the jazz scene from
1951, when he wrote the first of countless album and CD
annotations. He was the New York editor of Downbeat in the 1960s
and continues to contribute to that publication, as well as to
JazzTimes and Internet publications. His credits as a producer
include recordings and concerts, and he teaches jazz history at the
Manhattan School of Music. His books include the highly
acclaimed Jazz Masters of the '40s and Swing to Bop, the latter
written while he was a Guggenheim fellow. He lives in New York
City.
"An unpretentious and highly entertaining characterization of an
era when black musicians tried innovatively to wrest control of
their music from white big-band leaders....Informative, upbeat,
carefully assembled."--Mel Watkins, American Visions
"The most important and valuable book on jazz since James Lincoln
Collier's The Making of Jazz, Martin Williams' The Jazz Tradition,
and his own previous bop history, Jazz Masters of the
'40s."--Jazziz
"Mr. Gitler has done an exhaustive and creditable job, and we can
thank him for the thoroughness of the interviews, the sensible
organization of the material and the portrait of an emerging era
marked by more interaction between new and old than historical
generalizations would suggest."--The New York Times Book Review
"Swing to Bop captures the genius and warmth of Parker and
Gillespie, and the contributions of numerous other musicians,
too-often forgotten....[It] portrays with depth and vitality what
Gitler aptly described bop to be--'a music that lifted one with
beauty and joy.'"--Philadelphia Tribune
"A 'musician's story'...chock full of all the crazy things that can
happen on the road, in the clubs, in the studios, or just about
anywhere a jazz musician hangs or wears his hat."--The Christian
Science Monitor
"First class."--Jazztimes
"An uncommonly rich selection of anecdotes, outrageous stories,
hearsay and musical insight."--Baltimore Sun
"An essential book, one that brings the absolute excitement and
sense of change of the era vividly to life."--Cashbox
"There are moments here...where provocative ground is broken...[An]
enjoyable oral history."--Boston Phoenix
"One of the most enjoyable volumes that I've read in a while....If
you love creative music, Swing to Bop is a must--the words will
make you laugh, cry, groan, and make you wish that you were right
there when it happened."--Cadence
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