Savage Serenade

Double Page View: This book features double-page illustrations, where each spread showcases a captivating visual of animals. To fully appreciate the vibrant colors and intricate details, we recommend viewing the book in a double-page view mode. Join us on a thrilling journey through the animal kingdom! From the towering elephants of the African savannah to the tiny tree frogs in the Amazon rainforest, this illustration book introduces children to a variety of wild animals from different habitats. Learn fascinating facts about their habitats, behavior, and unique adaptations. Get ready for an unforgettable adventure as we encounter lions, tigers, bears, and so much more!

Hot Music, Ragmentation, and the Bluing of American Literature examines the diverse ways in which African American "hot" music influenced American culture - particularly literature - in early twentieth-century America. Steven C. Tracy provides a history of the fusion of African and European elements that formed African American "hot" music, and considers how terms like ragtime, jazz, and blues developed their own particular meanings for American music and society. He draws from the fields of literature, literary criticism, cultural anthropology, American studies, and folklore to demonstrate how blues as a musical and poetic form has been a critical influence on American literature. -- from dust jacket.

The first comprehensive guide to pre-1934 female popular vocal recordings sung in English—from around the world and including all styles—this discographical study includes solos, duets, trios, and quartets composed by the great songwriters of the early 1900s (from Irving Berlin to Victor Young). The majority of the listings includes material that has not been previously published, and a large number of entries profile such prolific artists as Helen Clark and Gladys Rice, who are not in previous discographies. A special feature includes data on sound-on-disc recording made for early talking-picture musical shorts (especially by Vitaphone) that is not documented elsewhere. A comprehensive title index includes composer credits for the majority of the titles listed. The first comprehensive guide to pre-1934 female popular vocal recordings sung in English—from around the world and including all styles—this discographical study includes solos, duets, trios, and quartets composed by the great songwriters of the early 1900s (from Irving Berlin to Victor Young). The majority of the listings includes material that has not been previously published, and a large number of entries profile such prolific artists as Helen Clark and Gladys Rice, who are not in previous discographies. A special feature includes data on sound-on-disc recording made for early talking-picture musical shorts (especially by Vitaphone) that is not documented elsewhere. A comprehensive title index includes composer credits for the majority of the titles listed. Many of the records documented in this volume are by the artists who introduced these songs at this time or who performed them in the original productions of the shows or movies for which they were written. The singing styles include those of cabaret performers, music-hall and vaudeville acts. Songs for the stage, screen, and radio are also included.

In Stardust Melodies, Will Friedwald takes each of these legendary songs apart and puts it together again, with a staggering wealth of detail and unprecedented understanding. Each chapter gives us an extended history of one song—the circumstances under which it was written and first performed—and then explores its musical and lyric content. Drawing on his vast knowledge of records and the careers of performing artists, Friedwald tells us who was responsible for making these songs famous and discusses in depth the performers who have left their unique marks on them. He writes about variations in performance style, about both classic and obscure versions of the songs, about brilliantly original interpretations and ghastly travesties. And then there’s the completely unexpected, like Stan Freberg’s politically correct “Elderly Man River.” This is a book for all lovers of American song to explore, argue with, and savor.

In The Infinity Sessions, T. R. Hummer achieves a radical act of translation, creating poems that project the narrative of twentieth-century America implicit in the syncopated rhythms of jazz and blues. Hummer boldly stands up as a poet and rides with some of the obscure greats with whom he feels a deep kinship -- Jimmie Lunceford, Adrian Rollini, Big Maybelle Smith, and Sun Ra -- in a dazzling poetic cycle as melodic, surprising, and improvisational as the finest of jazz music.Showing readers that the musician's character is tested and formed in the merciless crucible of improvisation, Hummer forces forth his own unique character as a poet, testing himself to the limit within the mystery, sadness, and beauty of jazz. His vaultingly ambitious collection is a work of grace and nuance, its conveyance of music in words incisively original in achieving this "impossible" translation.In the darkness, without a sound, The relays close; the tape slides by. What will it be this time? Shuffle for the lovers foundDead in an alley? Ballad for the boy Who slipped over the edge? Nobody wants to call The song. But this is fate. No mercyIn this business, the musicians know. They all Lived and died for it, common names forgotten. But note by note, take by take, their lyricalStumbling fattens the vault of heaven. Omniscience has a lot to answer for. The seraphic reels spin, Blues etched wave by wave on the shell of one electron.And then the great remastering: variations in the key of pain. -- from "The Infinity Sessions"

Arthur Rollini describes his career as a tenor saxophonist in the big US jazz orchestras. Here he tells an insider's story of the white swing orchestras.