WORLD IN A JUG

Larry Alden, descendant on his mother's side from a proud Creole family, inherits only one New Orleans' characteristic-- the love of the blues and the people who wail them. A renegade from everything his staid family represents, Larry leaves medical school and begins the international circuit that from the twenties on has set European and American feet tapping. An unhappy marriage, a disastrous affair with a young Parisian, and the death of two Negro jazz musicians leaves Larry, at fifty, rootless and confused. But the love of a Negro orphan saves him and redeems him to himself and the community of big- hearted, easy-spirited people who appreciate him. A simple story told with restraint, this account of a jazzman's life will primarily interest jazz and blues enthusiasts, particularly for its references to musicians and its analysis of popular musical trends. World in a Jug is written in a slow but steady beat.