Riding On A Blue Note

Gary Giddins, winner of the 1998 National Book Critics Circle Award, has a following that includes not only jazz enthusiasts but also pop music fans of every stripe. Writing here in a lyrical and celebratory style all his own, Giddins dazzlingly shows us,among many other things,how performers originally perceived as radical (Bing Crosby, Count Basie, Elvis Presley) became conservative institutions … how Charlie Parker created a masterpiece from the strain of an inane ditty … how the Dominoes helped combine church ritual with pop music … and how Irving Berlin translated a chiaroscuro of Lower East Side minorities into imperishable songs.