Gary Giddins has a following that includes not only jazz enthusiasts but also pop music fans of every stripe. Writing in a lyrical and celebratory style all his own, he transports us into the world of musicians drawn together by the elusive harmony of the blue note. In thirty dazzling pieces Giddins probes the core of greatness in American music, making connections between jazz and pop, serious and commercial music. He illuminates how performers originally perceived as radical (Bing Crosby, Count Basie, Elvis Presley) became conservative institutions, how Charlie Parker created a masterpiece from the strain on an inane ditty, and how Duke Ellington brought his Cotton Club Revue to church.

GARY GIDDINS is a columnist for the Village Voice and winner of the National Book Critics Circle award for Visions of Jazz. He is also the author of Riding on a Blue Note, Rhythm-A-Ning, Celebrating Bird, and Satchmo. His work has won numerous prizes, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Peabody Broadcasting Award, an American Book Award, and five ASCAP-Deems Taylor awards.

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