A perfect book for a Mosaic fan. Bird, The Duke, Lady Day, Miles, and you!
Jeff Gold comes to music history honestly, after a lifetime as an executive at majors like A&M and the Warner Music Group. At his Record Mecca memorabilia clearing house you’ll find blues, jazz and (naturally) a lot of the rock and pop that makes the world go round.
His latest book –Sittin’ In– is almost tailor-made for a Mosaic fan, taking a comprehensive, deep dive into the 40s and 50s, where jazz clubs fomented this music we all love. The table of contents reads like a Chuck Berry travelogue: New York City, Atlantic City, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, Kansas City, Los Angeles are just some (but missing Phil-a-del-phia P.A.).
But, it’s the illustrations that makes the plunge worth it. Jeff’s research has unearthed a lot of booty in musty safe deposit boxes, and one of them contained a treasure trove, hundreds of souvenir photos of audiences at clubs across the country. “We’ve seen the photographs of the clubs before, of the performers..., the marquees... But rarely... have we seen the audiences, the fans..."
“Sonny Rollins told me that in small clubs... the audiences ‘sort of played with you. They’re like part of the band.’”
We all know that feeling.
Aside from the abundant illustrations –more than just the photos there are programs, menus, playbills and the like– there are in depth takes on each and every club and interviews with Sonny Rollins, Quincy Jones, Dan Morgenstern and Robin Givhan.
Jump in, you’ll feel like you’re sittin’ in, I’m sure.
–Fred Seibert
Read more at London Jazz Collector, KCRW, and Jazz Weekly
