Description

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Whether in the compositions of foundational figures like Jelly Roll Morton, Thomas "Fats" Waller. and Earl "Fatha" Hines; swing pioneers such as Teddy Wilson and Joe Bushkin; torch-bearers like Mary Lou Williams and her student Thelonious Monk; technical masters including Bud Powell and Bill Evans; or modern mixologists such as Sun Ra and Keith Jarrett, the piano has been the site of historic innovations in jazz, and the stage on which some of its most colorful personalities have cemented their legacies. It's no coincidence that several legendary pianists--Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Nat King Cole--are named after royalty.

As one of the leading writers on jazz today, author, journalist, and historian Will Friedwald has witnessed over a half-century of epochal developments in the genre and the central role that the piano has played in its evolution. Nights at the Red Steinway collects key writings (from the Wall Street Journal and elsewhere) to form a deeply personal and engaging survey of key figures from Abrams to Zawinul. Irreverent when it wants to be but serious when it counts, Friedwald's writing offers a wide-ranging, deeply considered tour through the history of jazz piano. It is an indispensable collection for fans of all stripes.

About the Author

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Will Friedwald writes about music and popular culture for The Wall Street Journal, The New York Sun, The New York Stage Review, Vanity Fair, Playboy, and other publications. He is also the host of the Saturday morning radio show "Sing! Sing! Sing!" on San Diego's KSDS. He is the author of ten previous books including the award-winning A Biographical Guide to the Great Jazz and Pop Singers, Sinatra!: The Song Is You, Stardust Melodies: A Biography of 12 of America's Most Popular Songs, Tony Bennett: The Good Life, Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons, Straighten Up and Fly Right: The Life and Music of Nat King Cole, and Jazz Singing: America's Great Voices from Bessie Smith to Bebop and Beyond. He has written over 600 sets of album liner notes, has received eleven Grammy nominations, and appears frequently on television and in documentaries.