Let's Get to the Nitty Gritty: The Autobiography of Horace Silver

Book Description

Horace Silver is one of the last giants remaining from the incredible flowering and creative extension of bebop music that became known as "hard bop" in the 1950s. This freewheeling autobiography of the great composer, pianist, and bandleader takes us from his childhood in Norwalk, Connecticut, through his rise to fame as a musician in New York, to his comfortable life "after the road" in California. During that time, Silver composed an impressive repertoire of tunes that have become standards and recorded a number of classic albums. Well-seasoned with anecdotes about the music, the musicians, and the milieu in which he worked and prospered, Silver's narrative--like his music--is earthy, vernacular, and intimate. His stories resonate with lessons learned from hearing and playing alongside such legends as Art Blakey, Charlie Parker, and Lester Young. His irrepressible sense of humor combined with his distinctive spirituality make his account both entertaining and inspiring. Most importantly, Silver's unique take on the music and the people who play it opens a window onto the creative process of jazz and the social and cultural worlds in which it flourishes.
Let's Get to the Nitty Gritty also describes Silver's spiritual awakening in the late 1970s. This transformation found its expression in the electronic and vocal music of the three-part work called The United States of Mind and eventually led the musician to start his own record label, Silveto. Silver details the economic forces that eventually persuaded him to put Silveto to rest and to return to the studios of major jazz recording labels like Columbia, Impulse, and Verve, where he continued expanding his catalogue of new compositions and recordings that are at least as impressive as his earlier work.

Customer Reviews:

I'm glad he wrote it !.......2007-09-03

I have been a fan of Horace Silver for many years and I am grateful that he took the time and effort to share the story of his life with us.

The tone of the book is personal. It is not a jazz history or an analysis of his compositions. It's like he is as happy to have you read it as you are in reading it.

I learned much about the man. His appreciation for his friends and for his own life is inspirational. That he has had a very long career as a jazz musician and manged to stay away from drugs when so many of his associates were complete addicts is a point to be admired. The scope of his work is beyond what I had imagined.

If you are a fan of Horace and his music you will enjoy reading his viewpoint of his own life.

Still Living Jazz Great's Autobiography.......2007-01-24

Horace Silver is one of the few surviving masters from the golden years of jazz. He tells us about growing up in Connecticut, coming to NYC in the early 1950's when it seemed that there were jazz clubs everywhere. He provides the reader with valuable insights into his piano playing and composing talent. His first big time experience was with Stan Getz. Then with Coleman Hawkins, Lou Donaldson and on to Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers. He played with Lester Young and Miles Davis. Then he started with his famous quintets which featured Kenny Dorham,Hank Mobley, Doug Watkins and later on Donald Byrd,Art Farmer,Clifford Jordan,Louis Smith,Junior Cook,Blue Mitchell, Carmell Jones and Joe Henderson. I very much enjoyed his perspective on the illustrious past and the many stories related in this book. Well worthwhile read for any jazz enthusiast. An excellent discography is included.

It's About Time.......2007-01-08

I don't think I can say much about Horace that hasn't already been said other than he is my primary musical influence. I love his compositions and I love his approach to the piano. I consider him as a "father of funk" as well as hard bop. I was so happy that someone got a chance to speak with Horace in depth before he leaves us. I already deeply regret that I will most likely never get a chance to see him perform live. I highly recommend his autobiography to any true fan.

Doesn't Get Down.......2006-09-20

Sorry, I have to blast this book. It drags. The man just lists the names of famous folks and his stories sag. There is no drama, no insight, nothing new. If you are looking for something that will enrich his music or give you an insiders view of the jazz scene, this book will not satisfy. I doubt I will ever finish it.

GREAT NITTY GRITTY!!!!!!.......2006-04-29

Horace Silver's book reads like a Horace Silver piano solo sounds. This is a down to earth statement about the life and times of a "Jazz Messenger" and survivor of one of the most creative and undocumented eras of Black Music. Horace gives us first hand accounts of what it was like to perform with Sonny Stitt, Art Blakey, Stan Getz, Clifford Brown, Miles Davis, Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Big Nick, Lockjaw Davis, Kenny Clarke and many others. His anecdotes, like his quoting of different tunes during his piano solos, are often humorous and relevant to his central theme, the joys and hardships of life and music. I loved the book from beginning to end. I recommend it along with "RACE MUSIC", by GUthrie P. Ramsey, JR, and "Miles the Autobiography" by Quincy Troupe to all who are interested in the history of African American music and history in the post WWII era.

Let's Get to the Nitty Gritty: The Autobiography of Horace Silver.(Book review): An article from: The Journal of African American History

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Let's Get to the Nitty Gritty: The Autobiography of Horace Silver.(Book review): An article from: The Journal of African American History
Douglas Henry Daniels
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

African-American & Black | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000TJ052U
Release Date: 2007-07-11

Book Description

This digital document is an article from The Journal of African American History, published by Thomson Gale on March 22, 2007. The length of the article is 1082 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Let's Get to the Nitty Gritty: The Autobiography of Horace Silver.(Book review)
Author: Douglas Henry Daniels
Publication: The Journal of African American History (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 22, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 92 Issue: 2 Page: 318(3)

Article Type: Book review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

Which one comes first, the story or the characters? Without the essential story, the vibrant illustrations at which you have excelled with the aid of the How To Draw Manga series, won't become a manga. It was once true that creating characters was the key element for a manga. Now, even if the illustrations are less than spectacular, the story is the key element. This unique book concentrates on the fundamentals of making a manga.

Customer Reviews:

An ok creating stories guide.......2007-06-08

I was very excited when I finally got this book in a couple of weeks ago, when I saw the cover, I just knew this book would be awesome! But when I opened the book, I was a little disappointed. Unlike the other creating stories manga book I own by Mako itsuki, this had very little illustrations in it with lots and lots of text. Which is fine if you like that sort of thing, but since I have a short attention span, I need something that can keep me interested. This book isn't like Mako, her book reads more like a manga, this doesn't; It also have little snippets of other works from preveious manga artist's form various HTDM books, which I found to be a little annoying. Well let's get down to discussing this book shall we? This book basically covers the key fundamentals of creating the perfect manga story. It elaborates on how you should go about drawing the characters, the steps to brainstorming your story, The concepts and the panel layout, and the different genre to choose from when writing for your manga as well as the artwork production. Don't get me wrong, this book is actually packed full of very useful information, despite it's lack of creativeness in pictures. This book pretty much has it all from the protagonist to antagonist, to everything in between! This book also explains that if you wish to do a manga based on historical facts, even though you are putting in your own twist and humor, you need to get all the facts straight. All in all, I would rate this book a 4 for those who can really use this book for it's contents, I rated it a 3 since it isn't everything I expected it to be. I would definitely recommend this book for any beginner-advanced manga-ka out there. It will really help you guys out when you are perplexed when it comes down to how you should go about designing your characters based on their personna, looks, and role. I don't recommend this book if you are hoping this book will be similar to Mako itsuki's "Creating stories" book, you will be sorely disappointed. If you are looking for a book that teaches you about writing stories, then i recommend Shoujo manga techniques "writing stories: by Mako itsuki", that one explains the writing process just like the one by Junichi, and Shoujo manga techniques "drawing basics: by Hirono Tsubasa" is basically the companion to the first book I recommended. Other than that, buy this book, if all the info on the book apply to you. It will be a great advancement tool to add to your HTDM arsenal.

SpongeBob: 5 Splashy Styles (Nick How to to Draw)

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SpongeBob: 5 Splashy Styles (Nick How to to Draw)
Walter Foster
Manufacturer: Walter Foster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1560109289

Book Description

Now anyone can learn to draw SpongeBob SquarePants and his undersea friends in a variety of artistic styles--Original, SketchBob, Icon, Retro Funk, and even Punk! Following the super simple step-by-step instructions, kids will love discovering creative new ways to draw SpongeBob and his briny pals!

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Great book!

How to Draw Disney/Pixar's Toy Story
Walter Foster , and Walter Foster
Manufacturer: Walter Foster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1560104627

Book Description

Artists young and old will enjoy drawing the characters of Toy Story and Toy Story 2! In collaboration with Pixar Animation Studios, Disney artists will have you drawing characters in a variety of poses and moods. You'll also learn interesting facts about the movie. (40-page paperback, 10.25" x 13.75")

Customer Reviews:

Great book!.......2001-03-25

Even though this book is meant for kids, I bought it anyway. I'm 16 and I really want to be an animator when I'm older, and surprisingly this book really helped me learn to draw all the Toy Story 1 & 2 characters on my own. The characters are computer-animated in the movie, but this book helps you bring them alive on paper, too. I have all the books in this series and I LOVE them all, they seriously helped my cartooning skills & they're fun to use as well!

How to Draw Story Cartoons (How to Draw Series)

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How to Draw Story Cartoons (How to Draw Series)
Walter Foster
Manufacturer: Walter Foster Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Cartooning | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

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General | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0929261542

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How to Draw Disney's "Toy Story 2"

Manufacturer: Titan Books Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Cartooning | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1840231890

How To Draw Your Own Story: Monster Truck Demolition Derby (How To Draw Your Own Story)

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How To Draw Your Own Story: Monster Truck Demolition Derby (How To Draw Your Own Story)
Don Bolognese
Manufacturer: Torkids
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

Crafts & Hobbies | Arts & Music | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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Monsters | Obsessions | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0812567226

Book Description

It' pedal-to-the-metal excitement as you take the wheel of a super-duper Monster Truck in a demolition Derby!Follow the simple step-by-step instructions and before you know it you'll have learned to draw dozens of Monster Trucks--all the big wheels you'll need you have your very own Demolition Derby. But don't forget to wear your helmet. Boom! And strap on your seat belt. Crash! 'Cause it's high-octane adventure as you steer your Monster Truck to victory! Smash!Best of all, it doesn't matter if your Monster Truck gets demolished. Just pick up your pencil or crayon and drawn another one! It's that easy.

Customer Reviews:

Plebes is hilarious!.......1997-01-20

Plebes is a refreashing cartoon collection! Most of todays cartoons are pretty much the same: they lack imagination, but Plebes provides lots of laughes. Probably one of the best cartoon collections I have ever read. It's a shame the author did not release more of these books. It is mainly college-based humor, and some of the material is not meant for the faint at heart

Amazon.com

Not only is Peter Biskind's Easy Riders, Raging Bulls the best book in recent memory on turn-of-the-'70s film, it is beyond question the best book we'll ever get on the subject. Why? Because once the big names who spilled the beans to Biskind find out that other people spilled an equally piquant quantity of beans, nobody will dare speak to another writer with such candor, humor, and venom again.

Biskind did hundreds of interviews with people who make the president look accessible: Scorsese, Spielberg, Lucas, Coppola, Geffen, Beatty, Kael, Towne, Altman. He also spoke with countless spurned spouses and burned partners, alleged victims of assault by knife, pistol, and bodily fluids. Rather more responsible than some of his sources, Biskind always carefully notes the denials as well as the astounding stories he has compiled. He tells you about Scorsese running naked down Mulholland Drive after his girlfriend, crying, "Don't leave me!"; grave robbing on the set of Apocalypse Now; Faye Dunaway apparently flinging urine in Roman Polanski's face while filming Chinatown; Michael O'Donoghue's LSD-fueled swan dive onto a patio; Coppola's mad plan for a 10-hour film of Goethe's Elective Affinities in 3-D; the ocean suicide attempt Hal "Captain Wacky" Ashby gave up when he couldn't find a swimsuit that pleased him; countless dalliances with porn stars; Russian roulette games and psychotherapy sessions in hot tubs. But he also soberly gives both sides ample chance to testify.

Easy Riders, Raging Bulls is also more than a fistful of dazzling anecdotes. Methodically, as thrillingly as a movie attorney, Biskind builds the case that Hollywood was revived by wild ones who then betrayed their own dreams, slit their own throats, and destroyed an art form by producing that mindless, inhuman modern behemoth, the blockbuster.

When Spielberg was making the first true blockbuster, Jaws, he sneaked Lucas in one day when nobody was around, got him to put his head in the shark's mechanical mouth, and closed the shark's mouth on him. The gizmo broke and got stuck, but the two young men somehow extricated Lucas's head and hightailed it like Tom and Huck. As Peter Biskind's scathing, funny, wise book demonstrates, they only thought they had escaped. --Tim Appelo

Book Description

When the low-budget biker movie Easy Rider shocked Hollywood with its success in 1969, a new Hollywood era was born. This was an age when talented young filmmakers such as Scorsese, Coppola, and Spielberg, along with a new breed of actors, including De Niro, Pacino, and Nicholson, became the powerful figures who would make such modern classics as The Godfather, Chinatown, Taxi Driver, and Jaws. Easy Riders, Raging Bulls follows the wild ride that was Hollywood in the '70s -- an unabashed celebration of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll (both onscreen and off) and a climate where innovation and experimentation reigned supreme. Based on hundreds of interviews with the directors themselves, producers, stars, agents, writers, studio executives, spouses, and ex-spouses, this is the full, candid story of Hollywood's last golden age.

MARTIN SCORSESE ON DRUGS: "I did a lot of drugs because I wanted to do a lot, I wanted to push all the way to the very very end, and see if I could die."

DENNIS HOPPER ON EASY RIDER: "The cocaine problem in the United States is really because of me. There was no cocaine before Easy Rider on the street. After Easy Rider, it was everywhere."

GEORGE LUCAS ON STAR WARS: "Popcorn pictures have always ruled. Why do people go see them? Why is the public so stupid? That's not my fault."

Customer Reviews:

Couldn't put it down - I grew up admiring these characters..........2007-02-23

Firstly - I don't think that this book should be mistaken for a spiteful Paul-Johnson-type of takedown of Great Men...Biskind's not a curmudgeon, and I see no evidence of a Grand Thesis in this book smashing down facts to fit the preconceived mold...

I'm made to remember, as I first read & then occasionally re-read this book, that the Seventies was not just the time in which the putative counter-cultural forces stormed & took the tired old film studio citadel (and in the process became, many of them, boring old farts struggling for relevance); nor was it simply the time in which Spielberg & Lucas hatched the modern Big Blockbuster--but it was also the age of the invention of the super-auteur, the well-advertised & vaunting "maverick" filmmaker who compulsively pointed up to the stands every time he came up at bat (Bogdanovich & Coppola, most egregiously)...The super-stardom of these people arrives with the mainstreaming of know-how fetishism, and the over-valuation of the film artiste - the ascension of film-schools, making-of docs, horserace reports on box-office grosses, and so on...Much of what has been taken for slimy "gossip" in this book seems, on reflection, to be intimately connected with the films themselves: and in some wild cases ("Days of Heaven"; "Apocalypse Now"), the prodigal wasn't bankrupted & chastened, but came back home a star...

That said - I'm grateful for Biskind's hard treatment of Altman, and of Paul Schrader--they were begging for it...I don't understand why he treats Robert Towne's "Personal Best" as an ignominous all-'round failure--it REALLY wasn't that bad!

Juicy and exciting read.......2007-01-17

This book reads straight from the gossip columns. It's a fun, juicy read that you won't be able to put down. Peter Biskind gives you a sneek-peek behind Oz's curtain to see the nitty gritty lives of people like Scorsese, Speilberg, Copolla and Lucas. This won't be "classic literature," but you will find it exciting, addicting and a definate page-turner! Read this book just for the fun of it!

Not Recieved, No Refund.......2007-01-04

They say they sent it to my address, but i never recieved it. I called them. they told me they sent it, and did not offer further help.

Great in spite of itself.......2006-09-17

Peter Biskind's EASY RIDERS RAGING BULLS is destined to become a pop-culture classic, of a problematic sort for sure, but a classic still.

Biskind's research is formidable - the current academic revival of interest in the career of the late Hal Ashby was probably instigated by this book - this alone is an indication of how throrough a cultural chronicle of 70s 'New Hollywood' this work really is. It has obviously been taken very seriously in some quarters, and for all of its' academic impact, it also managed to become an improbable bestseller.

It's also one of those things that you love, and slot into a sort of 'guilty pleasure' category; Biskind balances his exhaustive cinema-historical research with equally exhaustive tales of sex-and-drug debauchery, though ultimately the avalanche of tittilating tawdriness does serve something of a purpose, in illustrating how certain individuals responsible for reinventing and reinvigorating Hollywood at the beginning of the 70s were also sowing the seeds of their own demise by the end of the same decade.

Biskind structures the book in emulation of one of the key players illuminated within - the entire book is structured like an Altman film, shifting gradually between a great cast of contradictory, combative characters (Hal Ashby as the moral center of it all), with the many historical narratives weaving together at the end. Along the way, he engages in a little bit of analysis (not enough, but understandable, given all else that is going on here), tracing the shadows of Nixon and Vietnam through films as seemingly disparate as "The Exorcist," "Jaws," "The Godfather," "Star Wars" and "The Conversation."

Overall, an essential piece of American cultural history.

-David Alston

The Godfather of New Hollywood Books.......2006-06-23

One can tell just by watching the films of directors such as Coppola, Scorcese, Friedkin and all the others that made up the New Hollywood of the 1970's, that they were infused with a streak of arrogance. Many films that were full of pretence and repulsive characters, but that nevertheless embodied a new spirit of American auterism, brought about by a new found European sensibility and a shift in power from producers to directors. So its no surprise that Peter Biskind's detailed and intriguing read, reveals these directors to be monstrous human beings. Power hungry, tin pot dictators fuelled by drugs, alcohol and sex. Somehow despite the lines of coke and the absurd sums of money that went flowing around, some of the greatest films in American cinema appeared. Biskind's enthusiasm for this period comes across and it helps that he lived through it and his book is filled with a great deal of insightful social commentary, his reading of STAR WARS for example is quite interesting. However he does tend to overcook the political and allegorical side of his critique. At times the book becomes a bit too gossipy and academics and film students might be put off by the tales of back stabbing and drug abuse. But, this does give the book a spark, which separates it from the more impenetrable and theory based books on the same subject. It is precisely because of Biskind's talky and down to earth prose that makes the book such a joy. There is a great deal of value to this book and after reading it you cannot view the films of this period in quite the same way. Enjoyable from start to finish.

EASY RIDERS RAGING BULLS: HOW THE SEX 'N' DRUGS 'N' ROCK 'N' ROLL GENERATION SAVED HOLLYWOOD.

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EASY RIDERS RAGING BULLS: HOW THE SEX 'N' DRUGS 'N' ROCK 'N' ROLL GENERATION SAVED HOLLYWOOD.
Peter. Biskind
Manufacturer: Bloomsbury
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0747559953

Book Description

This collections include: All Creatures of Our God and King * Be Thou My Vision * Come, Thou Almighty King * Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing * Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus * For the Beauty of the Earth * Great Is Thy Faithfulness * Holy, Holy, Holy * I Love to Tell the Story * I Need Thee Every Hour * In the Garden * Infant Holy, Infant Lowly * It Is Well with My Soul * Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming * O, for a Thousand Tongues to Sing.

Customer Reviews:

No one updates this book!.......2003-03-19

Scholarship leads given in this book are a joke. Some institutions don't exist anymore, some have moved. We pay a lot of money for this book in order to get current and correct information. No one bothers to update this book apparently.

Well worth the price.......2000-04-15

The directory provides a wealth of information on various funding sources, and is indexed by funding focus (e.g. undergraduate, discipline-specific, state of residence, etc.). Easy to use if a bit bulky and expensive.

Book Description

The book provides an assessment of European Union communications policy judged against democratic and normative criteria within the framework of the question of the need for a European wide public sphere. Taking as a starting point the democratic deficit and the problem of a lack of a developed public sphere at a level that is equal in scale and scope to the decision making bodies of the European Community, the book evaluates the extent to which, the EU has attempted to employ communication policy to support democratic media. It sets forth an argument that if the EU is to proceed it must do so through the mass media, and in order to do so it needs to formulate policy based on a public service philosophy. In this respect it analyses the dual nature of communications policy as it has been applied by the European Commission to the television sector and identifies the dynamics of EU audiovisual policy by the reviewing the free movement of programmes principle, media pluralism and the question of state aid and public service. The book concludes with the claim the European Commission is responsible for the decline and commercialisation of the television sector, have misunderstood many aspects of the Community's approach to the audiovisual sector and it is therefore necessary to review and reassess the nature of policy at the EU level.

Television and the Public Sphere : Citizenship, Democracy and the Media (Media Culture & Society Series)

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Television and the Public Sphere : Citizenship, Democracy and the Media (Media Culture & Society Series)
Peter Dahlgren
Manufacturer: Sage Publications Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Television | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0803989237

Book Description

Understanding the function and health of contemporary political systems requires an appreciation of the media's role in general, and of the most influential form of mass media in particular: television. In his broad-ranging text, Television and the Public Sphere, Peter Dahlgren both clarifies the underlying theoretical concepts of civil society and the public sphere and relates these to a critical analysis of the practice of television as journalism, as information, and as entertainment. Dahlgren demonstrates the limits and the possibilities of television and the formats of popular journalism and connects these to the audience's potential to interpret, resist, or construct its own meanings. What does a realistic understanding of television's functions and capabilities imply for people and democracy in a mediated age? Relating social and cultural theory of mediated societies to the actual realities of televised communication, Television and the Public Sphere is essential reading for scholars and students in media and communication studies, sociology, and politics of the media.

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