The Jazz Greats, Jazz.Ru's book about musicians

The Planet of Music publishers (St. Petersburg, Russia) just sent me a PDF file with The Jazz Greats, our next jazz book. I already have one published (The Jazz Industry In America, Planet of Music, 2008,) but the new one is a different story. The Jazz Greats is a collection of exclusive original feature articles, interviews, historical aricles and (alas) obituaries on 89 great international jazz musicians, published in in Russian language by Jazz.Ru magazine, both online and in print, from 2001 to 2008. I am one of the writing autors (one of 12, to be exact,) compilation editor, and compilation author. After we proofread the layout, the book is going to be sent to print, due out by May, 2009.

The book is about international (American and European) jazz musicians; what we pubished on Russians, is going to be included in another book, if all goes well.

At last, out #1-2009

In our first 2009 issue:


- Alex Rostotsky (face on the cover) and his newest "Promenade With Mussorgsky" album
- Joe Pass would be 80, Lonnie Johnson 110, J.J.Johnson 85, and Benny Golson turns 80
- Crisis? What crisis? - a new jazz club opens in Moscow on the Arbat street
- GRAMMY® Jazz Nominees and Winners
- The Bad Plus: Why We Play This Strange Music (Ethan Iverson and Reid Anderson interviewed)
- Blue Note Records turns 70
- Vilnius Mama Jazz, the Festival of the Popular Jazz
- Jazz Travels: Jazz Globus Festival in Jerusalem, Israel
- Will Know: Italian-Russian sax player Dimitri Grechi Espinosa
- Kurt Gottschalk's New York Is Now
- In memoriam: Fathead Newman, Hank Crawford, Freddie Hubbard
- Young Lions Turn 40
- Will Know: Polish sax innovator Macei Koczynski
- Young Scene: bari sax player Roman Sekachev
- The Discreet Charm of the Vinyl: Guennady Petrov and Nikolai Shienok review their favorite vinyl rarities
- History: Alexander Rivchun, Russia's first saxophone educator (1914-1974)
- Jazz Experience: Improvising Musicians Conference in Denver, reviewed by its participator Roman Stolyar
- What Do We Play -- Misha Tsiganov keeps bulding the Russian Real Book

In stores since February 25, 2009

One More E-Gadget

I have no idea yet why I need that, but since it's there I'll dwell there as well: Cyril Moshkow on Myspace

Maybe it's just to add musicians I know as friends there, I don't know. A serious writer should have millions of web pages. The only thing I do not yet dare to use, as I feel there like a bearded dwarf in a elementary school playground, is Facebook (and its Russian derivative, vkontakte.ru).

My son runs Jazz.Ru's vkontakte.ru group, though.

Speaking stereotypes

A recently found quotation:

"If you listened to my recordings in the Soviet Union during the darkest days of the Cold War, you could be sent to Siberia or worse. They listened to my records, and they called it “Jazz in Bones.” Using X-ray plates, they could record Willis Conover and get a fairly good recording. If you were caught with that, you were dead. But the doctors and the nurses and the students would very carefully listen to these recordings, and they had underground jazz meetings all the time."

"Cool Jazz and the Cold War. Dana Gioia Interviews Dave Brubeck on Cultural Diplomacy" (in: 2006 NEA Jazz Masters Awards brochure)

What a heap of biased, stereotype-driven, stereotype-loaded and stereotype-governed rubbish. If you were caught with Willis Conover radio shows recorded on the X-ray plates (???? -- there was enough tape machines by the time Willis would be the most popular jazz DJ in the Soviet Union; X-ray plates were for copying the original vinyls, otherwise unavailable in the country) you were DEAD??? Cattle crap.