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Esquires 1946 Jazz Book
the Esquire's 3rd Jazz Book covers the time span from Oct.1944 to Oct.1945
Paperback
First published April 1, 1979
4 people want to read
About the author
Paul Miller
283 books7 followersLike every other writer, Paul entered college majoring in mathematics and a couple years in, changed his focus to teaching business and accounting. After graduation, Paul began a successful career as an IT sales exec., then cashed in to commit to fatherhood duties, full-time. Just like every other writer.
As his kids neared school age, Paul read a book about divining your optimal career. Voila, novelist! He cant vouch for all writers on this leg of the journey, but hes pretty certain both E"
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
January 15, 2023
First of all, Goodreads' entry for this book is a mess. The Paul Miller linked to this entry is an entirely different person than Paul Eduard Miller, the editor of the Esquire Jazz Books. And my copy is a hardbook rather than a paperback.
All that aside, this is a dated, vintage jazz book, probably interesting only to hard-core jazz geeks like myself. It's the third entry (of four) in Esquire magazine's annual surveys of the jazz scene of the time. This one covers the period from October, 1944 to October, 1945. Not all of it holds up as valid and valuable nearly 80 years later, but taken as a view from the ground at the time, it's pretty interesting.
I was intrigued by the differences between the Esquire All-American Band poll, voted on by critics, and the "New Star" poll, voted on by musicians. Charlie Parker, the preeminent genius of the jazz alto sax, wound up in the middle of the critics' poll: an also-ran. The musicians, on the other hand, put him solidly in first place, with far more votes than any other alto player. And it wasn't only younger musicians that voted for him - such established jazz icons as Teddy Wilson, Harry Carney, Billie Holiday, and Coleman Hawkins rated him as the top alto player.
And speaking of Hawkins, here is his list of choices in the New Star poll:
trumpet - Freddie Webster
trombone - J. J. Johnson
alto saxophone - Charlie Parker
tenor saxophone - Lucky Thompson
clarinet - Jimmy Hamilton
piano - Thelonious Monk
guitar - John Collins
bass - Al McKibbon
drums - Denzil Best
violin - Ray Perry
arranger - Tadd Dameron
band - Billy Eckstine
male vocalist - Billy Eckstine
female vocalist - Sarah Vaughan
(It's worth noting that Dizzy Gillespie, the foremost modern jazz trumpeter at the time, was ineligible in this poll, since he had been selected as the Esquire New Star trumpet player the year before.)
This is a remarkable list, and quite prescient, since some of these musicians had just begun their careers, and had barely recorded yet. But of course, Hawk had his ear to the ground.
In any case, this is a very interesting look at the jazz scene of the time, which of course means that it will be of limited interest to most readers.
All that aside, this is a dated, vintage jazz book, probably interesting only to hard-core jazz geeks like myself. It's the third entry (of four) in Esquire magazine's annual surveys of the jazz scene of the time. This one covers the period from October, 1944 to October, 1945. Not all of it holds up as valid and valuable nearly 80 years later, but taken as a view from the ground at the time, it's pretty interesting.
I was intrigued by the differences between the Esquire All-American Band poll, voted on by critics, and the "New Star" poll, voted on by musicians. Charlie Parker, the preeminent genius of the jazz alto sax, wound up in the middle of the critics' poll: an also-ran. The musicians, on the other hand, put him solidly in first place, with far more votes than any other alto player. And it wasn't only younger musicians that voted for him - such established jazz icons as Teddy Wilson, Harry Carney, Billie Holiday, and Coleman Hawkins rated him as the top alto player.
And speaking of Hawkins, here is his list of choices in the New Star poll:
trumpet - Freddie Webster
trombone - J. J. Johnson
alto saxophone - Charlie Parker
tenor saxophone - Lucky Thompson
clarinet - Jimmy Hamilton
piano - Thelonious Monk
guitar - John Collins
bass - Al McKibbon
drums - Denzil Best
violin - Ray Perry
arranger - Tadd Dameron
band - Billy Eckstine
male vocalist - Billy Eckstine
female vocalist - Sarah Vaughan
(It's worth noting that Dizzy Gillespie, the foremost modern jazz trumpeter at the time, was ineligible in this poll, since he had been selected as the Esquire New Star trumpet player the year before.)
This is a remarkable list, and quite prescient, since some of these musicians had just begun their careers, and had barely recorded yet. But of course, Hawk had his ear to the ground.
In any case, this is a very interesting look at the jazz scene of the time, which of course means that it will be of limited interest to most readers.
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