Genres Books

Dewey's "How We Think" is the first book of his I have read. What a joy! I am in the "thick" of my doctoral dissertation, and am struggling to present and unfold my research work in a way that is clear to my audience (in this case, the members of my dissertation committee). Dewey's analysis of thought has helped me to consider important elements of thinking (and writing) such as: (1) the iterative "ebb and flow" between inductive and deductive thinking; (2) what is necessary to train my own mind to think "better"; etc.

Following my reading of "How We Think," I am now reading Dewey's "The Quest for Certainty" and "Knowing and the Known."

Reading "How We Think" is not difficult; however, it does require one to pay attention to what Dewey is saying to his reader audience. Now that I've read through it once, I will likely read through it again (fairly soon), as I work to tighten up my Ph.D. dissertation.

In conclusion, whether you are a student, teacher, or just plain interested in analyzing the world around you, then reading this book is very worthwhile.

As a professional educator, it's always great to review and reread works by the great theorists such as Dewey. Great information for business and educators alike!

It is very good to see this book appearing in new editions. This is a classic book about thinking. Dewey studies thought from the psychological and philosophical points of view and derives practical ideas for education.

Reading this book, I was surprised to see the applicability of its contents to my main activity field, which is business management. Today's main effort in business research is toward innovation and learning. Thus, thinking skill is probably the most important resource of any organization.

Dewey's view of thinking is surprisingly consistent and as fresh as any of the new management theories. Just to mention one aspect, he warns about the confusion of mental analysis (looking for the general aspects of an object) with physical analysis (dissection into parts), which leads to study living objects as if they were dead. This is the essence of systems thinking, which is so fashionable today!

The ideas Dewey presents about education are very useful for today's business environment. Business leaders, consultants and scholars should look carefully at his advices! His study of work and play is a great lesson of wisdom.

I would strongly recommend this book to anyone seriosly aiming at world class business performance.

I had never heard of John Dewey until I took a philosophy class. When I first received the book, I read through it relatively fast. Much of the material went over my head. However, on the second reading it was as if the pages were illuminated. In this book, Mr. Dewey gives his opinion on how we humans learn. It takes every day simple actions, breakes them up into their smallest unit and discusses why we did it that way.

What have I gained from this book? Everytime I do something, I attempt to break it down into its simples being, and determining how this breakdown fosters greater intelligence within myself.

As a text book or a book one wants to learn something from, I give it five stars. For just general reading it will garner 1/2 of a star.

John Dewey book "How We Think" concludes that we can be taught to "think well". Ways to do just that are discussed. He starts with beliefs and then considers the consequences they bring about. He suggests that knowledge is relative to its interaction with the world. He seems to conclude that real freedom is intellectual and then defines that as the ability to just turn things over in ones mind which he calls the power of thought. Thinking is according to much of what he says more important than what is being thought about.

Thinking is about cause and the effects that follow. A process is implied and likewise a connection is made to influences that have a negative influence on the process. Thoughtful conclusions are less likely when influences from unbalanced appetites, caprice or the circumstances of the moment.

The book concentrates on the influences to thought. In addition to beliefs it looks at logic, language, and simple observation.

This book is a good foundation for digging deeper into literary cannon and its interpretation.

An easy book to read. Well worth it.

Take a prince, a clutz and a magic ring and you have the recipe for happily-ever-after. Christina Armstrong has always had everything that money can buy . . . and always longed for all the things it can't buy. She wants to live an ordinary life full of family and love. Ordinary will never be a word to describe Prince Richard de Thierry, but he does have one ordinary wish . . . that he be allowed to choose his own wife. But when a legendary ring ends up stuck on Christina's finger, Richard has to decide if he should follow the people's will, or follow his heart . . . or could it be that both will lead him the same place -- straight to Christina. IF THE RING FITS is the right read for anyone who loves fairytale stories of love that will leave you believing that happily-ever-afters do exist!

What a wonderful fairy tale set in modern day time! I thought I had seen it all when it came to romances but this is the fairy tales of all tales. Melissa McClone is a very talented, not to mention visionary author. Her words are woven just right to cast that magic spell. When the entire San Montico island insists that Christina Armstrong marry Prince de Thierry because of an enchanted ring she knows her accident prone ways has gotten her into the biggest mess yet. And because she can't take the darn ring off, she's heading right down the aisle, or shall we say stumbling? True love and Prince Charming? Only in this fiary tale! Bravo, Melissa. I can't wait for your next book!

Wow! What an amazing fairytale. A light-hearted story of two people certain they want marriage - but not to each other. Working together they have such fun on the road to romance, I felt as if I took the journey with them. Hurray for Melissa McClone! I can't wait for her next book.

When American heiress Christina Armstrong tries on an innocent-looking ring at the ball given for Prince Richard de Thierry's thirtieth birthday, she can't get it off. Which, given the lovely young lady's propensity for disaster, isn't at all surprising. But legend has it the ring's enchanted. . .and that the Prince must marry the woman attached to the finger on which the ring resides within a week, or forfeit the crown. Which wouldn't be such a bad thing, maybe -- after all, while they try everything under the sun to get the ring off, the couple does discover they enjoy each other's company -- except for a minor sticking point: neither wants to marry the other. After a life of suffocating plenty -- but a workaholic father who was never around -- all Christina wants is to find a nice, ordinary guy who'll provide her with a nice, ordinary family life out on a farm somewhere. And as far as Prince Richard is concerned, silly notions of enchanted rings have no place in his plan to drag the tiny kingdom of San Montico into the present. If only he didn't want to kiss her so much. . .

IF THE RING FITS is a real charmer, laced with wit and just the right amount of sizzle between the characters for a traditional romance. Enchanting, indeed!

Legend has it that the enchanted engagement ring, a treasured heirloom of the de Thierry family, will only fit on the finger of the Prince of San Montico's one true love. And, after the ring fits, the prince has one week in which to marry - or abdicate his throne.

But when clumsy American heiress, Christina Armstrong, got the ring stuck on her finger, Prince Richard knew he had to get that ring off her pretty finger before anyone found out it fit. Otherwise, wedding plans would be afoot. Christina simply wasn't princess material - and she darned sure wasn't going to be his princess. He wasn't going to let a foolish legend dictate who he would marry.

Christina was no more impressed with the prospect of marrying this demanding prince than he was with marrying her. But, try as they might, the ring simply refused to budge. True love, it was said, was the only thing that would release the ring. Richard and Christine made a good team - but could they somehow fall in love before the week was up? Before Richard lost his throne?

A clever twist on the Cinderella story, "If The Ring Fits..." is fast, fun, and pure delight. A keeper for sure!

The book is well written and the individual stories of each Il Divo singer brings the reader closer to a better appreciation of their music.

First, anything Il Divo is and excellent investment. Second, it is written by the group members themselves which makes the book an accurate telling of their lives rather than an edited second hand version. The pictures are great as well.

What a wonderful book. A GREAT READ!! I've enjoyed reading the individual comments. I have more respect for each of the guys and how they relate to each other and to their fans. The early childhood comments are most interesting. I recommend this to any fan to better understand the guys on a personal level. I've read it several times. I especially like the portraits and group pictures.

The interaction among them is interesting as they come from completely different backgrounds. The different cultures must have been difficult to deal with, however, their maturity shows they all compromise. I especially like reading about their interests 'outside' Il Divo...

This has to be the very best book about Il divo thats around... of course its writen by THEM so, it has a LOT of photos i have never seen before... this is a must have for any Il Divo fan....

Loved the book- quite interesting lives they have had. Not all happy childhoods. But the book is great. Makes you love them and their music even more. Lots of great pictures and hearing their lives through their own words is brilliant.

This is a interesting book that uses some very good paintings to help illustrate Jimi's message and beliefs

What a beautiful display of art and love.My copy was accidently binded backwards, probably a message to love by jimi, and packed with good vibes and heavenly artwork. Interesting that she left this realm after completing...but thanks for what they left us. Hendrix lives on in this one.

this is the most pure and fact proving book I have ever read that even mentions Jimi Hendrix. This book tells of his REAL life, not the life people who thought they could put him in his place have given him. A MUST READ!!!!!!!!!!

P.S. Do you know how or why he died? No you don't. read it to find the true Jimi the one who didn't commit suicide, the one that was one of the numerous victims to malpractice.

The artwork is worth the money. There's a full color piece on almost every other page. Monika is an extraordinarily gifted painter. She also has much insight in to the legend that is Hendrix. (Hard Cover Edition)

This book made me laugh, cry, and tell everyone all of the things that I learned 'bout Jimi. I wish I could get in touch with Monika and thank her. Thank You Monika, -Love Cherie.

It was the G & S operetta I wanted and ordered and the edition I specified

I am actually going to be in the performance of this hilarious piece. I really like it, it's just good old fashioned British humor.

If you are going to watch a performance of Iolanthe, you might enjoy having a copy of this to follow what's going on. It goes fast in places, and is sometimes hard to follow even for someone who has gone through it several times. It truly is awesome!

This has been the standard vocal score for "Iolanthe" since I first performed in it about 1960. It certainly was not new even then. It is well-printed on good, creamy paper. The musical notation and the accompanying lyrics are of convenient size and clarity. Dialogue passages are printed in block in the appropriate places between musical numbers. The binding is thick paper. Personal experience has shown that it is hardy enough to survive three or four consecutive productions.

The contents reflect the standard performing version of "Iolanthe" used throughout the Twentieth Century by the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. Among the G&S canon, "Iolanthe" has been subject to less innovation than most. The only significant cut was a song for Strephon called "Fold Your Flapping Wings," which was held to be too political. (My copy of this score is now the better part of fifty years old. I do not know whether the publisher modified its printing plates to include Strephon's song when the New D'Oyly Carte Opera Company restored it to the stage in the early 1990s.) This score is otherwise very close to the version conducted by Sullivan on opening night back in the 1880s.

Few opera/operetta librettos read very well on their own (of course, they weren't intended to). In the case of Gilbert and Sullivan, the exercise is not only sheer pleasure, but almost a necessity; such is the speed of the monologues and intricacy of the ensembles that much of Gilbert's brilliant verbal wit gets lost.

'Iolanthe' is one of his most enrapturing confections, the story of a shepherd, Strephon, half-fairy half-mortal, whose mother, Iolanthe, is a disgraced sprite (it is forbidden for fairies to marry mortals), and whose father (unbeknownst to either) is the Lord Chancellor who won't let him marry his ward, Phyllis, darling of the Lords.

The material may be fantastic, the setting pastoral, but the satire in this 1882 work is spot-on contemporary, with jibes at the Irish problem, the uselessness of the House of Lords (who as a caste are as close to fantasy as the fairies, so it is no surprise they exchange the House of Peers for the House of Peris), and the ruling class' fear of democracy and universal suffrage. A most delightful fancy has the fairies take over Parliament in the shape of Strephon, whose every whim unites the notoriously factional Liberal and Conservative in his favour.

this is Gilbert at his funniest - the verbal contortions he undergoes in the search for rhymes break all linguistic boundaries, and his view of the fragility of centuries-old English institutions prescient. There is an extraordinary patter song by the Lord Chancellor which shows the man embodying Law and Constitution plunging into nightmare, the culmination of a libretto in which identities and forms, as well as seemingly irrevocable laws and customs, are repeatedly broken down or metamorphosed.

Great! A marvelous satire of Victorian politics. Iolanthe, a fairy, has a son, Stephon, who is half mortal and cannot marry his true love because the entire House of Lords is in love with her too! To revenge themselves on the Peers, the fairies put Strephon into Parliament and arrange it so every bill he chooses is passed into law.

"For theater lovers, this holiday brings books that should satisfy even the pickiest soul. My favorite is a gossipy portrait of Broadway over the past 60 years - IT HAPPENED ON BROADWAY, AN ORAL HISTORY OF THE GREAT WHITE WAY..... It's fun to browse in (lots of nice pictures), but addictive as a bag of potato chips."

IT HAPPENED ON BROADWAY: AN ORAL HISTORY OF THE GREAT WHITE WAY By Myrna Katz Frommer & Harvey Frommer

The Bloomsbury Review, November-December 1998

What better way to write a history of the last fifty years of Broadway theater than to get the information from those who made it all happen! The Frommers have compiled an oral history that is told by many of those wonderfully talented, hardworking people who spared no effort to create great hits and, yes, occasionally, flops. More than one hundred actors, directors, choreographers, producers, composers, lyricists, and playwrights as well as set, costume, and lighting designers, extras, and publicists have contributed to this deliciously enjoyable compilation of material about the great white way.

It Happened on Broadway is filled with background information about the Broadway shows of the last half century, and the successes, failures, struggles, and uncertainties of many personalities. Many interviewees have been household names for generations, others are just achieving recognition, and some names are not likely to mean much to most readers. Yet they all bring us some of the most interesting experiences and insights about the Broadway theater of recent years. One wonders how the Frommers managed to persuade so many luminaries to share their tales.

The first chapter "Broadway Calling," should be required reading for every theater student, aspiring actor, and budding theater professional. To hear Carol Channing, Jerry Herman, Betty Buckley, Manny Azenberg, Betty Comden and Adolph Green, Al Hirschfeld, Richard Kiley, Leslie Uggams, Louise Lasser, Charles Durning, Patricia Neal, Jerry Zaks and many more tell how they got started in their careers is an education in itself and makes for superbly entertaining reading as well.

Much of the book is devoted to musicals, since those were the majority of "name" Broadway shows of the last half century, but there are also stories of the Theater Guild, from Eugene O'Neill and Bernard Shaw to William Inge and Sean O'Casey and the last week of Clifford Odets, and about the extraordinary talents of Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams and such performers as Marlon Brando and Tallulah Bankhead. Celeste Holm tells how her Broadway career began when she was cast by Lynn Fontanne in The Time of Your Life together with Gene Kelly and William Bendix. And there is talk about the groundbreaking impact of Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun.

In one chapter "Look, Look, Look Who's Dancin' Now," Gwen Verdon, Marge Champion, Donna McKechnie and others share stories about Agnes DeMille, Jerome Robbins, Gower Champion, Bob Fosse, and the creation of Chorus Line and Chicago.

Most new shows go through a difficult gestation period before they are ready to be presented to the public. In some instances, a late edition of a song or conversely, deletion of some material can turn a potential loser into a future hit. Backstage tales, candid comments on their own performances and those of their fellow actors, the roundabout ways in which producers obtained production rights, often after years of effort, all make for fascinating reading.

This book gives the rare opportunity to hear the comments of those who were involved in the creation of Guys and Dolls, Cabaret, Zorba, Wonderful Town, On the Twentieth Century, The Will Rogers Follies, Annie, Nine, Grand Hotel, Titanic, and many, many more.

To sum up, the Frommers have combined these interviews and stories into a rich, seamless, history that masterfully captures the essence of Broadway's last five decades in a most enjoyable fashion. _____ __

Paging through this book is like stepping back through those years in the mid to late 20th Century when Broadway was bursting with fresh talent and wonderous creativity. Fantastic photos (many of which I have not seen elsewhere) and the collected personal memories of an army of Broadway veterans. Instead of muddying these memories with reams of connecting text, the editors have grouped related anecdotes into chapters and let those who lived this history speak for themselves. A great read for anyone who loves the theatre -- Broadway in particular.

This is a one of a kind Broadway book. The stories, the photos, the whole feel . . .it is like table hopping at Sardi's.

The stars, both onstage and off, that have helped create the Broadway theatre of today have committed their lives to one of the most important and vital of all the arts. This book gives them their due in a way few others have. It Happened on Broadway is a very well-done book recording for posterity the fine tradition that is Broadway theatre, using almost entirely the words of the people that actually lived their lives there. It is funny, touching, englightening, and a must-read for anyone who loves Broadway and theatre as much as those in the book who gave their lives to it.

A wonderful book of Bach pieces transcribed for the electric bass. I'm a music teacher who is primarily a guitarist, but I also have a few bass students, a couple of them who have progressed beyond the fundamentals of rhythm, position, and left and right hand fingering.

These pieces offer a refreshing contrast to the more contemporary styles usually associated with the electric bass guitar, and the duets are fun to play with students.

Not the most thrilling of all music you can buy, but it is accessable to intermediate players like myself. Nice to play something different besides Rush and Cream, and my wife doesn't mind listening to it either.

Not for beginners. May be useful to know what the piece sounds like before you attempt to play it.

Great book, and even better if you've got a mate who can learn the accompanying parts.
Bach pieces arranged for the bass vary from the simple to the all out incredible, but with this bok you can work over the easy and the hard stuff at your own pace. Tab is there for those that need it, bu the notation is also there which is very important to get a feel for the pieces. The notes are also most informative with regard to feel, time signature and speed. Given enough practise, you can master a few of the arrangements very quickly, and before long, be able to impress a few people with your new found dexterity. Then impress them more when you do a full duet with a mate...

This is a great book for intermediate to advanced level Electric Bass. There are two duets for Bass and Violin (or G Clef instrument) and one for Bass with accompaniment for Piano. Includes the tab notation which helps a lot!

Having not studied classically, the JS Bach book has helped my technique enormously and I can already see and feel improvements from playing the pieces. Enjoyable and interesting studies to play. Definitely a must buy for all bassists whatever style. Guaranteed fast results...lets see what my jazz colleagues think of my solo pieces now! Go buy it now!

A simple but effective running of the history, with comments on the individual recordings, of the songs that appear on James Browns first major album hit, "Live at the Apollo" recorded in October 1962 alongside the then occurring critical world event of the Cuban Missile Crisis, makes for an effective time capsule telling by Douglas Wolk of the making of this classic recording.

While the author veers towards the over stated at times (did the 1,500 in the audience based on the limited public news released really behave as they did based on the belief they could die in a week!) he does a much better job of nailing the history of James Brown. These include how he got to make this recording against his record company's indifference; his on balance limited hit record success to date offset by his constant touring of an all action performance, but most of all that what was on show here was one man's personal and stylistic interpretations of a suite of songs that covered black music across the 20s to the early 60s. Some songs had undergone numerous adaptations and recordings by others plus JB before the versions done here (the ripping of of other peoples songs seems almost to have been a lifelong JB hallmark). What was really being performed was an exercise where songs could only last for less than a minute to over ten minutes as JB backed by his ever tight band riding on their leaders moods and his reading of the audience emotions laid down one of the truly original live recordings made.

The fact that the LP was in popular demand for many months after to be played in full on R&B radio stations at a time when single hits were paramount was testament that something unique that connected with the black audiences of 1962/1963 had occurred and it was to be some time before JB reconnected in such a way again (and certainly never again with another live album, despite several attempts).

Wolk also does a very good expose of Brown's ego and resulting mis-treatment of all around him plus how the recording was not a true full recording from having to be adapted and edited from the true JB live revue show, which while visually spectacular would not have translated into such an effective audio format.

A story telling which is certainly "on the good foot" throughout.

Fans of James Brown will find Douglas Wolk's slim but hard-hitting classic, Live At The Apollo: 33 1/3, brings to life Brown's performance in 1962, piecing together what took place, what was recorded that night, and Brown's musical heritage and contributions as a whole. Live At The Apollo recommended pick for any avid fan of Brown and a welcome contribution to 20th Century American Music History collections.

the cuban missile crisis almost brought an end to life on earth as we know it. who saved the day? maybe it was j.f.k.... or maybe it was the number one soul brother james brown. douglass wolk makes a good case for the godfather of soul in this well-researched, compelling, funky good time book.

A great short read about the live recording sessions that led to the creation of one of the seminal R&B albums. The writing is punchy, respectful, and never overwrought -- except for the glaring and jarring detours into the Cuban missile crisis. The episode is clearly relevant to the story, because the concert in question took place in roughly the same 24-hour time span that the crisis was unfolding, but while everyone in the Apollo that night may have had the crisis on their minds, the digressions into what the fighter planes and the decision makers were doing at exactly the same time that James Brown was wiping sweat off his brow as he switched gears and tore into another song are distracting and ultimately tell us little about why the crisis made the night charged. Wolk should have stuck to the performances and the music or else found a better way of weaving the crisis into the book.

Given a book-length space to fill, many magazine writers do what comes naturally: they write a book-length magazine article. Wolk, however, approaches his narrative from the top down, treating the long form with the reverence and intricate attention of a clockmaker god. His story moves chronologically in an evening's frame, but it's also shot through with a series of gears and patterns, nibble-sized pieces, and odd bits of synchronicity that align in unexpected choruses. Gliding across it all, of course, is the electric, eccentric energy of James Brown. Scrapbookers, beware: this is more than simple homage. It's a work that stands independently, with one hell of a soundtrack to boot!

Jazz Life is a great book in every senses: Fantastic photographs,very good informative text and wonderful audio CD, besides its weight and its size. Very, very good. Great find.

Gorgeous book. One that I will want to have out and look through over and over. Amazing, you see something different every time you look through it.

This book has great pictures of famous entertainers. It is very heavy, though. I got the best price through Amazon. It came more quickly than I imagined, We are very pleased with the book and the service and wouuld do it again.

I just received this enormous book; yes enormous in every way. Both in vision, content, printing and weight. I have plenty of jazz photo books and some earlier collections by Claxton, but this certainly reaches beyond the rest. It reminds me of the work by the great Cartier-Bresson. It is far beyond publicity shots and the compositions are real and echoes what language can never say. I am reminded of the great writer Albert Murray. He delves deep into the entire ouvre of this American art form. The large two page bleed photos are breathtaking. The book is largely b&w which suits me just fine. One seldom comes across such empathy and passion for a subject and at the same time shoots like a painter. This is a bargain at twice the price.

If you were a jazz fan in the Fifties this book will be the ultimate visual memory jogger. It is a huge book, too, weighing in at over fifteen pounds (a bit more with its handy carrying box) and with spreads opening to an impressive twenty-three inches wide by sixteen deep. The 696 beautifully printed pages feature an expanded collection of photos originally taken for the 1961 German book 'Jazz Life' produced by Joachim Berendt and William Claxton.

In four months during 1960 these two motored across the America and it would seem photographed every important jazz musician that mattered and what stunning photos they are. Page after page of folks you have been listening to for years and not just recording studio shots but plenty of informal and location photos. Musicians everywhere get a look in, New Orleans, Kansas, St Louis, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York, from ragtime to bop to East and West coast styles. Each area has an essay and all the photos are captioned. Looking through the book for the first time with its huge page size and Claxton's sympathetic jazz camera is a rather awesome experience.

There is a forty-two minute CD with the book (the original German edition had two seven inch LPs) of music recorded by Berendt but I thought it was rather bland in its choice of tracks. Predominately New Orleans traditional and spirituals with a very small sampling of other styles some of which annoyingly fade out before the end. I bet at the time though the music added to the book's success in a still rather war-torn Germany.

'Jazz Life' celebrates a great American music style with photos you can almost hear. I doubt there will be anything as good as this published again.

*A Shorty Rogers tune dedicated to Bill Claxton

***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

This children's book is a wonderful celebration of our nation's rich history of Jazz Music. The beautiful illustrations themselves are enough to make this book worth buying, however the text is great too and is set to a jazzy beat. The book alludes to several famous jazz artists and has a brief glossary in the back giving more detail about the artists' lives. The book also includes a cd in the back. This book is great for classrooms or homes, a delightful read that children will love. This book is also a great investment for anyone who loves jazz music.

Leo & Diane Dillon' Jazz On a Saturday Night celebrates the jazz style in an excellent picturebook story packed with descriptions of the jazz experience. Kids are provided with the essence and feel of jazz in a moving story line with fun, action-packed drawings.

This book is a nice introduction to the world of jazz music. A short history of Jazz in the front of the book was helpful to me as I planned a K-2 art lesson centering around Jazz music. Students enjoyed the rymes accompanied by bold, silkscreen style illustrations. The accompanying CD is simple enough for young students and highlights jazz instruments one by one giving a short description followed by the sound that instrument makes. The CD concludes with a jazz song which includes lyrics that match words from the book. Especially of interest to my students was the bio on the authors/illustrators....who often listen to music while they paint! Just like we do in class. : )

I picked up this book at a small local book shop and immediately had to have it! The Biblical theme makes it posible to use in Sunday school classes, however, the art work and idea of dealing with change makes it appropriate for school use, too. I teach education courses and plan to use it in my Art in the Classroom course as well as Children's Literature. Children could make up their own stories to go with the illustrations which come from original art of many ages and countries. All the illustrations are explained and identifed in the last pages of the book. I have given away my copy to someone who saw the potential for use in the classroom because she was dealing with seasons. This book is for anyone who enjoys outstanding picture books, not just children.

The renowned team of Leo and Diane Dillon sparkle in this fond evocation of jazz greats, as entertaining as it is educational. They contrive a "dream team" of six jazz legends, John Coltrane, Ella Fitzgerald, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, and Max Roach, and one relative newcomer to the pantheon, bassist Stanley Clarke. We're there with the all-Black audience in a small theater setting, delighted and inspired as the fantasy begins with Miles soloing on trumpet, and--one of my personal favorites, sometimes overlooked--Max Roach on the drums:

Repeat on the beat
When Max Roach keeps the heat
On his drums, rhythm thrums,
Makes you jump in your seat.

The Dillons know their stuff, whether it's the period (1950's) clothing, the audience reaction (Feel the beat in your feet, what a treat), the roots of jazz, or the nicknames and styles of the musicians: Charlie Parker's alto sax riffs "fly through the sky, on the wings of a bird."
They capture of essence of Monk in two sentences--in a book for kids!

Thelonious Monk invents on the keys,
Does his own thing, not aiming to please.
Discordant chords now blend ta be
Pure genius, joined in harmony.

The richly saturated illustrations are as captivating as the text, While they could be computer-generated, they're warm and have a graphics/poster quality. An "African" style pattern often backs the foregrounded musicians, providing visual interest and unity. I have a few very minor qualms, trivial really--but perhaps expected from one who is a major fan of jazz as well as kids' books: While the musicians' portraits are generally excellent, they don't quite get Ella Fitzgerald right. (In fact, a lighting technician backstage resembles Billie Holiday more than Ella's picture resemble Ella.) Miles Davis could blow both hot and cool jazz, but it is for the latter that he is most famous. Puzzling then, that Miles' trumpet's "sparks heat up the skies." Finally, Charles Mingus is the definitive bass player, and belongs here for both historical and stylistic reasons. Perhaps the Dillons wanted to included a somewhat more contemporary player.

I assumed the included CD would be a brief, watered-down composition, but I was wrong. After an interesting 12-13 minute sampling of the various instruments (contrasting different saxes, drums, volumes, and tempos), the uncredited band plays an
exciting number that shows off the instruments' individual and collective expression. As with the text, the CD strikes just the right balance of easy-going instruction and sheer finger-snapping, toe-tapping fun. Better get this one into yo'soul, and onto your bookcase!