Benny Carter: A Life in American Music

by James Patrick, Edward Berger, James Patrick

This extraordinary two-volume work was hailed as a milestone of jazz literature when it was originally published in 1982. Examining both his musical and cultural significance, the authors present the life and career of Benny Carter, one of the most important and versatile figures in jazz. During the past two decades, Carter, in his eighties and nineties, continued to expand his musical realm. In this new edition, Edward Berger has brought the unparalleled Carter saga into the new millennium, adding insider accounts of tours, major concerts, recordings, and other special events. In addition, the new work reveals more of the reticent Carter's complex character and views, gleaned from hundreds of hours of interviews and conversations. The accompanying annotated discography, one of the most comprehensive ever devoted to the work of a single musician, has been thoroughly revised and updated. Dozens of new and previously unpublished photographs have been added.

1440 pages, Hardcover

Published July 2, 2002

Reviews

[Jeff Crompton · Rating 3 out of 5]

This consists of two volumes: a biography and a discography. The discography, which I've had for years, is an extremely valuable piece of jazz scholarship. The biography, which I only recently found and read, is... odd. It's a scholarly biography, rather than a popular one. The authors are very careful to provide ample background information - some chapters have more background info than biographical information on Carter. And some of the background would be familiar to almost anyone reading this book. Then there's the last chapter, which changes tone drastically - it concerns Carter's association with Princeton University, where one of the authors was on the faculty. The writing here really doesn't fit in with the rest of the book. I really wanted to love this, but I'm not sure the biography really succeeds on any level.