No one has had a better seat in the house than George Wein. The legendary impressario has known some of the most celebrated figures in jazz - from Duke Ellington to Count Basie, and from Thelonious Monk to Miles Davis. As a founder of the Newport Jazz Festival, the Newport Folk Festival, and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, Wein has brought a broad spectrum of musical artists to millions, forever changing the cultural landscape of America.

In this long-awaited memoir, Wein looks back on his life and career describing unforgettably his relationships - sometimes smooth, sometimes tempestuous - with the great figures he has known. From what really happened when Charlie Mingus was at the White House; how Miles Davis and the ensemble that would eventually record one of the most celebrated jazz albums of all time, Kind Of Blue, came together at his Storyville night club; and the day at Newport when Bob Dylan first "went electric."

Beginning in 1950 with the opening of Storyville in Boston, Wein presented jazz in a setting respectful of both the musicians and the audience. Since 1954 the Newport Jazz Festival has always reflected Wein's vision and grit, attracting music immortals as well as aspiring young artists to his stage. Over the years Newport became synonymous with jazz festivals in the United States, and it has served as a model for festivals worldwide.

Myself Among Others is also a personal memoir - of Wein's youth as a Jew in a suburb of Irish Boston, of his time in the Army as their "Number One Fuck Up" (his ability to play the piano was the only thing that saved him), of his marriage to an African American woman at a time in America when it was illegal in 25 percent of the country, and of his eventual move to New York City to be closer to the music on which he built his life.

Recorded here are the struggles and triumphs of this extraordinary man, who has expanded the audience for jazz more than anyone else alive today.

CONTENTS:
FOREWORD by Bill Cosby
PART ONE: Newton Boy; That's A Plenty; Joyce; Storyville
PART TWO: New Things At Newport; Interlude 1: Duke; A Long Step Forward; Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?; Interlude 2: Monk; The Festival Is Me; Conflicts and Concerts; The Newport Folk Festival
PART THREE: New Orleans; Newport Jazz Festival - New York & the NYJRC; "Come Up To KOOL"; KOOL to JVC; Interlude 3: Miles Davis; Grande Parade du Jazz; JVC and Beyond
CODA

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