One Man S Music

Determined to make the time pass on a hot and humid day, Ty is inspired by a man who fills the night with music using a washboard, comb, spoons, and a pail as his instruments. It’s the hottest day of the year, and the sun is burning so bright that it dried up all the dew on the grass. Mom is doing laundry, Dad is unloading the chicken feed, and his brother and sister are busy… but Ty is set on finding something to do to make the time pass on the hot day. As he lays under the shade of the trees and watches the fish in the pond, Ty begins to hear the steadying thump-thump-thump of someone playing music. Then, out of nowhere, a man with one leg approaches the pond. As he watches in awe as the man makes music out of the strangest things, Ty begins making his own sounds using anything he can find.

Alone in a hospital bed the night before major surgery, Bernie Malone struggles to find a purpose in his life. None of the various pub bands he managed over the years was ever picked up; he gave his whole life to music, infatuated with rock and roll since seeing The Who in an iconic show at fifteen. Now, facing a life threatening operation, Bernie is forced to search for meaning to his existence. Framed with the classic rock and roll soundtrack of his life, Bernie's search for answers drives him to examine his relationships with his family and business, as well as his vices, virtues and politics. As Bernie remembers his life, he is haunted by his present circumstances and the burning question: "This can't be it can it?" One, two. One, two is an evocative portrait of one man's valiant attempt to follow his dream in the music industry. Mick Foden was raised in a small village in Cheshire, England.

Fired from his skiffle band, Francis Henshall becomes minder to Roscoe Crabbe, a small time East End hood, now in Brighton to collect £6,000 from his fiancee's dad. But Roscoe is really his sister Rachel posing as her own dead brother, who's been killed by her boyfriend Stanley Stubbers. Holed up at The Cricketers' Arms, the permanently ravenous Francis spots the chance of an extra meal ticket and takes a second job with one Stanley Stubbers, who is hiding from the police and waiting to be re-united with Rachel. To prevent discovery, Francis must keep his two guvnors apart. Simple. Based on Carlo Goldoni's classic Italian comedy The Servant of Two Masters, in this new English version by prize winning playwright Richard Bean, sex, food and money are high on the agenda.

For half a century, Michael Jackson’s music has been an indelible part of our cultural consciousness. Landmark albums such as Off the Wall and Thriller shattered records, broke racial barriers, amassed awards, and set a new standard for popular music. While his songs continue to be played in nearly every corner of the world, however, they have rarely been given serious critical attention. The first book dedicated solely to exploring his creative work, Man in the Music guides us through an unparalleled analysis of Jackson’s recordings, album by album, from his trailblazing work with Quincy Jones to his later collaborations with Teddy Riley, Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, and Rodney Jerkins. Drawing on rare archival material and on dozens of original interviews with the collaborators, engineers, producers, and songwriters who helped bring the artist’s music into the world, Jackson expert and acclaimed cultural critic Joseph Vogel reveals the inspirations, demos, studio sessions, technological advances, setbacks and breakthroughs, failures and triumphs, that gave rise to an immortal body of work.

Jean-Michel Pilc, jazz pianist and faculty member of Steinhardt School, New York University, has written a remarkable book about the artistic and creative process in the arts. The conversational style well suits the wide ranging topic which draws examples from art and music both classical and jazz. A beautifully expressed work on a subject otherwise impossible to write about. Hailed by musicians around the world as enlightened and inspirational.

"In detailing his recovery from the accident and his roundabout climb back onstage, Bell shines a light in those dark corners of the music business that, for the lone musician whose success is measured not by the Top 40 but by nightly victories, usually fall outside of the spotlight. Bell's prose is not unlike his lyrics: spare, beautiful, evocative, and often sneak-up-on-you funny. His chronicle of his own life and near death on the road reveals what it means to live for one's art."--BOOK JACKET.