Foreword by Jonathan Yardley
Acknowledgments
How We Got There
Newport '56
Where It All Went
Notes
Bibliography
Index
JOHN FASS MORTON began a career in theater, film, and writing in London in 1974 where much of his work involved music. Following a starring role in a West End musical, he made appearances in major films, including The Empire Strikes Back.
If you want to understand why Backstory in Blue was written in the
first place, listen to George Avakian's original mono LP for the
torrent and spectacle. The go to Schaap's CD for the musical
detail. The read the book. . . . Morton ultimately delivers a
gripping account of the riotous and dramatic night.
*Downbeat*
Morton provides a detailed exploration of the remarkable July night
in a not-very-jazzy community then known primarily for its
upper-class society lifestyle. . . . his research and writing are
outstanding. Jumping back and forth in time, Morton draws the
reader into both factual content and the emotion of the
performance. Recommended.
*Choice*
What makes John Fass Morton's Backstory in Blue so impressive is
the way he handles the tensions and releases of that blue
containment tale while bringing human complexity to the fore. We
feel the flesh-and-blood qualities of the characters who made the
story intimate, secret, public, intricate, casual, and even
slightly mysterious. Morton reveals many things that others have
missed, and his book could inspire those in our firmly segregated
literary world where almost all of our fiction fails to bring
artistry and the sort of sweep expected in the best...novels. Page
by page this book makes its way to great importance.
*Harper's Magazine*
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