Lyricist, essayist, and music historian, Lees draws on his encyclopedic knowledge and a lifetime experience to present an entertaining and informative account of jazz and its artists, both celebrated and neglected. There is fresh insight into the lives and work of an eclectic group of jazz artistes from Bix Beiderbecke to Dizzy Gillespie, from swing to bebop, from 1920s to 1990s. Lees provides vivid portraits that of seminal arranger Bill Challis, trombonist Spiegle Wilcox, alto saxophonist Bud Shank, and the gifted and tragic guitarist Emily Remler, one of jazz's few female musicians.