Biographies

[jerlaw]

I am interested in acquiring all biographies I can about the lives of jazz musicians, mainly in the bebop tradition. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

[bazwillrun]

a library

[Neutron]

Hi jerlaw, I think a book to start with is the Guinness Who's Who of Jazz, with its details in alphabetical order about the greats of jazz.
I've got the Guinness Who's Who of Blues, which gives details of the lives and work of Muddy Waters, Billie Holiday. Fats Waller, B.B. King and the rest.
Then after dipping into the Jazz book you could decide who your favourites are for further reading.
Dave Brubeck is a favourite of mine, also Dizzy Gillespie's music. I know they are old-timers now, and I guess you prefer Miles Davis and John Coltrane, all good artists.
You probably already know about the Modern Jazz Channel on SKY.fm which is worth a listen.
Best wishes,
Neutron

[con-amca]

"Jazz - the Rough Guide" by Ian Carr, Digby Fairweather and Brian Priestley. This is an updated reprint of their "Jazz - the Essential Companion".

John Chilton's "Who's Who of Jazz"

"The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz" edited by Barry
Kernfeld. There is a one volume edition of this that is
much less expensive than the full version.

There is also Leonard Feather's three-volume "Encyclopedia of Jazz", the last two being
"Jazz in the Sixties" and "Jazz in the Seventies" respectively.

I've got them all, and between them they cover a lot of
ground, not just the be-bop era of course.

[fairkatrina]

Hi, your best bets to find them (cheaply!) are ebay, www.abebooks.co.uk, and your local libraries and charity shops. Of course the last two are rather hit-and-miss, but by far the cheapest and worth a look.