Dialogues in Swing: Intimate Conversations with the Stars of the Big Band Era

by Fred Hall, Artie Shaw (Introduction)

Fascinating interviews with some of the major figures of the "The Golden Age of Swing", including Bob Crosby, Woody Herman, Mel Torme, Peggy Lee.

223 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Fred M. Hall has been in music and radio broadcasting since 1941 and writes prolifically on jazz and big bands. He is producer and distributor of Fred Hall’s Swing Thing, an internationally syndicated radio show heard in the United States, Canada, England, Scotland, and Wales, and has worked with and known many of the greats of the Golden Era of Swing. He lives currently in South Lake Tahoe, California, with his wife, Gita.

Reviews

[Austin Gisriel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book didn't purport to be anything but a collection of interviews that author Fred Hall did with various big band era performers. And it wasn't. There was interesting information along the way, but there was never any connection between the interviews, no over-riding theme that held the book together.

The interviews themselves seem to have been taken directly from the transcripts. Fred could have edited out the "you know" that we all place in our speech. It's an example of how this book has that "thrown together" feel.