Hear Me Talkin' to YA

Hear Me Talkin' to Ya: Jazz Musicians Tell Their Stories

"Music is your own experience, your thoughts, your wisdom. If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn." -- Charlie Parker

"What is jazz? The rhythm -- the feeling." -- Coleman Hawkins

"The best sound usually comes the first time you do something. If it's spontaneous, it's going to be rough, not clean, but it's going to have the spirit which is the essence of jazz." -- Dave Brubeck

This Dover Publications volume presents jazz history through the voices of those who created it. Famous jazz musicians including Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, Fletcher Henderson, Bunk Johnson, Duke Ellington, Fats Waller, Clarence Williams, Jo Jones, Jelly Roll Morton, Mezz Mezzrow, and Billie Holiday recall the birth, growth, and evolution of jazz across decades.

Comprehensive Jazz Documentation Through Personal Accounts

Compiled by Nat Shapiro and Nat Hentoff, this oral history traces jazz from its beginnings at the turn of the twentieth century in New Orleans' Storyville district, through Chicago's Downtown section and the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, to Chicago's South Side jam sessions, Kansas City performances, Harlem during the Depression years, and West Coast modern developments.

The documentation draws from hundreds of personal interviews, letters, tape recorded conversations, telephone discussions, and excerpts from previously printed articles in books and magazines. This approach provides an authentic, unfiltered perspective on jazz evolution through the words of the musicians themselves.

Essential Reading for Jazz Enthusiasts and Students

This firsthand account serves jazz enthusiasts, musicians, students of music and culture, students of American history, and general readers interested in authentic cultural documentation. The personal narratives capture the spirit, challenges, and innovations that defined each era of jazz development.

"A lively book bearing the stamp of honesty and naturalness." -- Library Journal.

"A work of considerable substance." -- The New Yorker.

"Some of the quotations are a bit racy but they give the book a wonderful flavor." -- San Francisco Chronicle.

The book's conversational format and direct quotes from jazz legends make it an engaging read that brings jazz history to life through personal stories, anecdotes, and reflections from the musicians who shaped the genre.