Category Archives: Book Review

From Timbuktu to the Mississippi Delta (Pt. 1)

Posted on December 1, 2010 by The Independent Ear

Guitarist-educator, and now author, Pascal (Bokar) Thiam aims to broaden the historical timeline of blues and jazz well beyond the romantic notion of ‘up the Mississippi from New Orleans…’  Though I had the pleasure of spinning Pascal’s in-performance ’07 CD … Continue reading →

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African Rhythms… available now!

Posted on October 22, 2010 by The Independent Ear

African Rhythms, the autobiography of NEA Jazz Master Randy Weston, Composed by Randy Weston, Arranged by Willard Jenkins (Duke University Press), is currently available online at such major outlets as Amazon.com.  It will be released to retail internationally on November … Continue reading →

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Stormy Weather: The Life of Lena Horne

Posted on July 5, 2010 by The Independent Ear

 Though still in progress with James Gavin’s thick new volume on the life & times of the recently departed ancestor Lena Horne, several in-progress observations give high marks to the writer’s thorough, detailed efforts.  Gavin, who penned the equally-rewarding Chet Baker … Continue reading →

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Book Review: “Digging”

Posted on November 16, 2009 by The Independent Ear

New York-based writer Ron Scott, past contributor to our ongoing dialogue with African American music journalists Ain’t But a Few of Us, weighs in here with his take on the recently-released compilation of Amiri Baraka writings.   Digging: The Afro-American Soul of … Continue reading →

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