Drawing on a rich verbal tradition, bassist and jazz writer Bill Crow has culled stories from interviews, biographies and autobiographies, the remarkable collection of oral histories compiled by the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University, and his own columns to paint fascinating and very human portraits of jazz musicians. Organised around general topics - teaching and learning, stage fright, life on the road, prejudice and discrimination, and the importance of a good nickname - Jazz Anecdotes shows the jazz world as it really is and suggests why it gives its devotees a kick like no other. In addition, it offers extended sections on jazz greats such as Bessie Smith, Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, Tommy Dorsey, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, and the fabulous Eddie Condon, who seems to have lived his entire life with the anecdotist in mind.

BILL CROW is a freelance musician and writer. He is the author of From Birdland to Broadway and his articles and reviews have appeared in Downbeat, The Jazz Review, and Gene Lees's Jazzletter.

"A scintillating omnium gathering of jazz talk." - THE WASHINGTON POST BOOK WORLD

"Read this somewhere where you're not afraid to be seen laughing out loud…Everyone should be able to find something to like in this rich collection." - LOS ANGELES TIMES

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