Jazz fans will enjoy reading about some of the legendary players involved but might be disappointed if they expect an...
Skinner’s engaging if slight debut memoir, as told to Solan, recounts his time organizing the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival in the unlikely town of Moscow, Idaho.
The Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival started out as the University of Idaho Jazz Festival in 1968, and Skinner took the reins in 1976, thinking it would be a one-year gig. It turned out to be a 31-year job—and the start of a lifelong friendship with legendary vibes player Lionel Hampton. Skinner wanted to move the festival forward and bring in bigger names. He brought Hampton in to perform in 1984, and he played every festival from then to 2002. In 1987, UI went one step further and named their music school the Lionel Hampton School of Music. That brought national news coverage to the school, and Hampton’s presence brought in a lot of talent, like Dizzy Gillespie, Gerry Mulligan, Branford Marsalis, and Carmen McRae. The relationship was so close that when Hampton’s apartment caught fire in 1997, he called Skinner from the sidewalk while he watched it burn. Skinner tells his story in a fairly conversational style, illustrated with many photos of him with jazz legends. The bulk of the story is about how the festival expanded, adding more talent across more days, providing stage time and scholarships to area students and generally helping to keep jazz alive. Skinner devotes the rest of the time to stories about “Hamp,” as he calls him, and about his own education as a jazz fan and music teacher, ending, oddly, with the story of his tour of the Soviet Union in 1989. It’s clear there was a fine friendship between Skinner and Hampton, and there are some wonderful glimpses into Hampton’s personality, like his tendency to get lost in a jam with guests and go long. But as much as jazz fans might enjoy the book, they are getting only glimpses. Skinner never dives into a particular show to make the reader feel like they were there from beginning to end.
Jazz fans will enjoy reading about some of the legendary players involved but might be disappointed if they expect an in-depth look at Lionel Hampton.Pub Date: Dec. 12, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-62901-587-3
Page Count: 184
Publisher: Inkwater Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 19, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
