Satchmo At The Waldorf

THE STORY: SATCHMO AT THE WALDORF is a one-man, three-character play in which the same actor portrays Louis Armstrong, the greatest of all jazz trumpeters; Joe Glaser, his white manager; and Miles Davis, who admired Armstrong's playing but disliked his onstage manner. It takes place in 1971 in a dressing room backstage at the Empire Room of New York's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, where Armstrong performed in public for the last time four months before his death. Reminiscing into a tape recorder about his life and work, Armstrong seeks to come to terms with his longstanding relationship with Glaser, whom he once loved like a father but now believes to have betrayed him. In alternating scenes, Glaser defends his controversial decision to promote Armstrong's career (with the help of the Chicago mob) by encouraging him to simplify his musical style, while Davis attacks Armstrong for pandering to white audiences.

Certain to be the definitive word on Louis Armstrong, "Pops" paints a gripping portrait of the man, his world, and his music. Drawing on a cache of new sources, the author has crafted a sweeping new narrative biography of this towering figure.

A major new biography of Duke Ellington from the acclaimed author of Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington was the greatest jazz composer of the twentieth century—and an impenetrably enigmatic personality whom no one, not even his closest friends, claimed to understand. The grandson of a slave, he dropped out of high school to become one of the world’s most famous musicians, a showman of incomparable suavity who was as comfortable in Carnegie Hall as in the nightclubs where he honed his style. He wrote some fifteen hundred compositions, many of which, like “Mood Indigo” and “Sophisticated Lady,” remain beloved standards, and he sought inspiration in an endless string of transient lovers, concealing his inner self behind a smiling mask of flowery language and ironic charm. As the biographer of Louis Armstrong, Terry Teachout is uniquely qualified to tell the story of the public and private lives of Duke Ellington. A semi-finalist for the National Book Award, Duke peels away countless layers of Ellington’s evasion and public deception to tell the unvarnished truth about the creative genius who inspired Miles Davis to say, “All the musicians should get together one certain day and get down on their knees and thank Duke.”

The Wall Street Journal drama critic and Missouri native remembers growing up in small-town America, paying tribute to the memories he developed and people he met while revealing the reasons he finally left for New York City. In this collection of anecdotes and memories, Terry Teachout sings of the pride of regional America. City Limits is the story of Teachout’s as he grew up in small town of Silkeston, Missouri, filled with countless adventures and embarrassments. Beginning with his life as a young boy and progressing to eventual his decision to leave the only place he knew for New York City, Teachout gives readers a glance into the mind of small-town boy that grew into a big-city man.

A moving tribute to Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong, an extraordinary man, whose dynamic personality and trumpet playing won him millions of fans. Full color. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

"Deals with one of the last appearances of Billie Holiday." -- p.7 | May include musicians.

'One of the best novels about growing up fast' GUARDIAN 'One falls for Sally Jay Gorce from a great height from the first sentence' OBSERVER 'Scandalous and entertaining . . . Both funny and true' EVENING STANDARD The Dud Avocado gained instant cult status on first publication and remains a timeless portrait of a woman hellbent on living. Sally Jay Gorce is a woman with a mission. It's the 1950s, she's young and she's in Paris. Having dyed her hair pink, she wears evening dresses in the daytime and vows to go native in a way not even the natives can manage. Embarking on an educational programme that includes an affair with a married man (which fizzles out when she realises he's single and wants to marry her); nights in cabarets and jazz clubs in the company of assorted "citizens of the world"; an entanglement with a charming psychopath and a bit part in a film financed by a famous matador. But an education like this doesn't come cheap. Will our heroine be forced back to the States to fulfill her destiny as a librarian, or can she keep up her whirlwind Parisian existence? Books included in the VMC 40th anniversary series include: Frost in May by Antonia White; The Collected Stories of Grace Paley; Fire from Heaven by Mary Renault; The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter; The Weather in the Streets by Rosamond Lehmann; Deep Water by Patricia Highsmith; The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West; Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston; Heartburn by Nora Ephron; Memento Mori by Muriel Spark; A View of the Harbour by Elizabeth Taylor; and Faces in the Water by Janet Frame

Essential for the home bar cocktail enthusiast and the professional bartender alike “The textbook for a new generation.” —Jeffrey Morgenthaler, author of The Bar Book “A true classic in its own right . . . that will be used as a reference for the next 100 years and more.” —Gaz Regan, author of The Joy of Mixology 2017 JAMES BEARD FOUNDATION BOOK AWARD NOMINEE: BEVERAGE 2017 SPIRITED AWARD® NOMINEE: BEST NEW COCKTAIL & BARTENDING BOOK Frank Caiafa—bar manager of the legendary Peacock Alley bar in the Waldorf Astoria—stirs in recipes, history, and how-to while serving up a heady mix of the world’s greatest cocktails. Learn to easily prepare pre-Prohibition classics such as the original Manhattan, or daiquiris just as Hemingway preferred them. Caiafa also introduces his own award-winning creations, including the Cole Porter, an enhanced whiskey sour named for the famous Waldorf resident. Each recipe features tips and variations along with notes on the drink’s history, so you can master the basics, then get adventurous—and impress fellow drinkers with fascinating cocktail trivia. The book also provides advice on setting up your home bar and scaling up your favorite recipe for a party. Since it first opened in 1893, the Waldorf Astoria New York has been one of the world’s most iconic hotels, and Peacock Alley its most iconic bar. Whether you’re a novice who’s never adventured beyond a gin and tonic or an expert looking to expand your repertoire, The Waldorf Astoria Bar Book is the only cocktail guide you need on your shelf.