R&L Logo R&L Logo
  • GENERAL
    • Browse by Subjects
    • New Releases
    • Coming Soon
    • Chases's Calendar
  • ACADEMIC
    • Textbooks
    • Browse by Course
    • Instructor's Copies
    • Monographs & Research
    • Reference
  • PROFESSIONAL
    • Education
    • Intelligence & Security
    • Library Services
    • Business & Leadership
    • Museum Studies
    • Music
    • Pastoral Resources
    • Psychotherapy
  • FREUD SET
Cover Image
Hardback
share of facebook share on twitter
Add to GoodReads

Bass Notes

Jazz in American Culture: A Personal View

Chuck Israels

From his upbringing as a “red-diaper baby” among some of the leading lights of American music and Left politics, to his legendary work as bassist for the Bill Evans trio, to his collaborations with such figures as Charles Mingus and Billie Holiday, Chuck Israels has witnessed over a half-century of change and innovation in American jazz music. In Bass Notes, he offers up both an engaging memoir and a meditation on the history of jazz music and its prospects for the future. In addition to fascinating stories from his work with musicians like John Coltrane, Joan Baez, and Herbie Hancock, he gives an inside view into the mysterious alchemy that happens when skilled jazz improvisers get together. As he explains, the combination of disciplined collaboration and individual freedom is not just exhilarating for musicians, but an inspiring reflection of, and model for, democracy and the potential for true racial equality.

Israels recounts his decision to leave Bill Evans’s trio to deepen his musical education and develop as a composer—and his choice to not rejoin the trio in Evans’s last years. Citing such developments as the dominance of conservatory training and ill-advised crossover attempts with classical and pop, he also gives an impassioned but unsentimental account of how jazz lost its primacy in the pantheon of American music, even though it is America’s most distinctive contribution to world music. He explores the obstacles that today’s best young jazz musicians face following the giants of earlier generations and the dwindling opportunities to make a living as a musician. But despite it all, Israels argues that jazz’s enduring and rich legacy will not be lost and shows how it can be not just sustained but broadened in the years to come.

  • Details
  • Details
  • Author
  • Author
  • Reviews
  • Reviews
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers / Backbeat
Pages: 240 • Trim: 6¼ x 9½
978-1-4930-7484-6 • Hardback • December 2023 • $37.95 • (£30.00)
Subjects: Biography & Autobiography / Music, Music / History & Criticism

Chuck Israels is a composer, arranger, and bassist who has worked with Billie Holiday, Benny Goodman, Coleman Hawkins, Stan Getz, Herbie Hancock, J. J. Johnson, John Coltrane, Gerry Mulligan, Nina Simone, the Kronos Quartet, and many others. He is best known for his work with the Bill Evans Trio from 1961 through 1966 and his pioneering accomplishments in jazz repertory as director of the National Jazz Ensemble from 1973 to 1981. Chuck lives in Portland, Oregon.

"Intimate and immersive ... A revealing peek into the life and work of an influential musician and an up-close history of a musical genre."—Publishers Weekly


—


Bass Notes

Jazz in American Culture: A Personal View

Cover Image
Hardback
Summary
Summary
  • From his upbringing as a “red-diaper baby” among some of the leading lights of American music and Left politics, to his legendary work as bassist for the Bill Evans trio, to his collaborations with such figures as Charles Mingus and Billie Holiday, Chuck Israels has witnessed over a half-century of change and innovation in American jazz music. In Bass Notes, he offers up both an engaging memoir and a meditation on the history of jazz music and its prospects for the future. In addition to fascinating stories from his work with musicians like John Coltrane, Joan Baez, and Herbie Hancock, he gives an inside view into the mysterious alchemy that happens when skilled jazz improvisers get together. As he explains, the combination of disciplined collaboration and individual freedom is not just exhilarating for musicians, but an inspiring reflection of, and model for, democracy and the potential for true racial equality.

    Israels recounts his decision to leave Bill Evans’s trio to deepen his musical education and develop as a composer—and his choice to not rejoin the trio in Evans’s last years. Citing such developments as the dominance of conservatory training and ill-advised crossover attempts with classical and pop, he also gives an impassioned but unsentimental account of how jazz lost its primacy in the pantheon of American music, even though it is America’s most distinctive contribution to world music. He explores the obstacles that today’s best young jazz musicians face following the giants of earlier generations and the dwindling opportunities to make a living as a musician. But despite it all, Israels argues that jazz’s enduring and rich legacy will not be lost and shows how it can be not just sustained but broadened in the years to come.

Details
Details
  • Rowman & Littlefield Publishers / Backbeat
    Pages: 240 • Trim: 6¼ x 9½
    978-1-4930-7484-6 • Hardback • December 2023 • $37.95 • (£30.00)
    Subjects: Biography & Autobiography / Music, Music / History & Criticism
Author
Author
  • Chuck Israels is a composer, arranger, and bassist who has worked with Billie Holiday, Benny Goodman, Coleman Hawkins, Stan Getz, Herbie Hancock, J. J. Johnson, John Coltrane, Gerry Mulligan, Nina Simone, the Kronos Quartet, and many others. He is best known for his work with the Bill Evans Trio from 1961 through 1966 and his pioneering accomplishments in jazz repertory as director of the National Jazz Ensemble from 1973 to 1981. Chuck lives in Portland, Oregon.

Reviews
Reviews
  • "Intimate and immersive ... A revealing peek into the life and work of an influential musician and an up-close history of a musical genre."—Publishers Weekly


    —


ALSO AVAILABLE

  • Cover image for the book A Perfect Union of Contrary Things
  • Cover image for the book Al Schmitt on the Record: The Magic Behind the Music
  • Cover image for the book I Saw Them Standing There: Adventures of an Original Fan during Beatlemania and Beyond
  • Cover image for the book Crying in the Rain: The Perfect Harmony and Imperfect Lives of the Everly Brothers
  • Cover image for the book American Standard: Cheap Trick from the Bars to the Budokan and Beyond
  • Cover image for the book The Untold Story of Scott Hoying, Pentatonix Star: My Son’s Journey to Find Harmony in Music and Life
  • Cover image for the book Rockin' the Kremlin: My Incredible True Story of Gangsters, Oligarchs, and Pop Stars in Putin's Russia
  • Cover image for the book DLR Book: How David Lee Roth Changed the World
  • Cover image for the book Lead Sister: The Story of Karen Carpenter
  • Cover image for the book From the Shadow of the Blues: My Story of Music, Addiction, and Redemption
  • Cover image for the book Howling to the Moonlight on a Hot Summer Night: The Tale of the Stray Cats
  • Cover image for the book Gimme All Your Lovin’: The Blues, Boogie, and Beard of ZZ Top's Billy F. Gibbons
  • Cover image for the book Infinite Dreams: The Life of Alan Vega
  • Cover image for the book Backstage Passes & Backstabbing Bastards: Memoirs of a Rock 'N' Roll Survivor
  • Cover image for the book Rod Stewart: The Classic Years
  • Cover image for the book The Musical Life of Melanie: From the Village to Woodstock and Beyond
  • Cover image for the book When Rock Met Reggae: How the Cultural Crossover of Bob Marley, The Clash, The Specials and More Changed the Face of Rock Music
  • Cover image for the book Ode to a Tenor Titan: The Life and Times and Music of Michael Brecker
  • Cover image for the book Elegant People: A History of the Band Weather Report
  • Cover image for the book Shell Shocked: My Life with the Turtles Flo and Eddie and Frank Zappa, etc.
  • Cover image for the book Defying Gravity: The Creative Career of Stephen Schwartz, from Godspell to Wicked, Revised and Updated Second Edition
  • Cover image for the book Stevie Ray Vaughan: Day by Day, Night After Night: His Final Years, 1983-1990
  • Cover image for the book A Perfect Union of Contrary Things
  • Cover image for the book Al Schmitt on the Record: The Magic Behind the Music
  • Cover image for the book I Saw Them Standing There: Adventures of an Original Fan during Beatlemania and Beyond
  • Cover image for the book Crying in the Rain: The Perfect Harmony and Imperfect Lives of the Everly Brothers
  • Cover image for the book American Standard: Cheap Trick from the Bars to the Budokan and Beyond
  • Cover image for the book The Untold Story of Scott Hoying, Pentatonix Star: My Son’s Journey to Find Harmony in Music and Life
  • Cover image for the book Rockin' the Kremlin: My Incredible True Story of Gangsters, Oligarchs, and Pop Stars in Putin's Russia
  • Cover image for the book DLR Book: How David Lee Roth Changed the World
  • Cover image for the book Lead Sister: The Story of Karen Carpenter
  • Cover image for the book From the Shadow of the Blues: My Story of Music, Addiction, and Redemption
  • Cover image for the book Howling to the Moonlight on a Hot Summer Night: The Tale of the Stray Cats
  • Cover image for the book Gimme All Your Lovin’: The Blues, Boogie, and Beard of ZZ Top's Billy F. Gibbons
  • Cover image for the book Infinite Dreams: The Life of Alan Vega
  • Cover image for the book Backstage Passes & Backstabbing Bastards: Memoirs of a Rock 'N' Roll Survivor
  • Cover image for the book Rod Stewart: The Classic Years
  • Cover image for the book The Musical Life of Melanie: From the Village to Woodstock and Beyond
  • Cover image for the book When Rock Met Reggae: How the Cultural Crossover of Bob Marley, The Clash, The Specials and More Changed the Face of Rock Music
  • Cover image for the book Ode to a Tenor Titan: The Life and Times and Music of Michael Brecker
  • Cover image for the book Elegant People: A History of the Band Weather Report
  • Cover image for the book Shell Shocked: My Life with the Turtles Flo and Eddie and Frank Zappa, etc.
  • Cover image for the book Defying Gravity: The Creative Career of Stephen Schwartz, from Godspell to Wicked, Revised and Updated Second Edition
  • Cover image for the book Stevie Ray Vaughan: Day by Day, Night After Night: His Final Years, 1983-1990
facebook icon twitter icon instagram icon linked in icon NEWSLETTERS
ABOUT US
  • Mission Statement
  • Employment
  • Privacy
  • Accessibility Statement
CONTACT
  • Company Directory
  • Publicity and Media Queries
  • Rights and Permissions
  • Textbook Resource Center
AUTHOR RESOURCES
  • Royalty Contact
  • Production Guidelines
  • Manuscript Submissions
ORDERING INFORMATION
  • Rowman & Littlefield
  • National Book Network
  • Ingram Publisher Services UK
  • Special Sales
  • International Sales
  • eBook Partners
  • Digital Catalogs
IMPRINTS
  • Rowman & Littlefield
  • Lexington Books
  • Hamilton Books
  • Applause Books
  • Amadeus Press
  • Backbeat Books
  • Bernan
  • Hal Leonard Books
  • Limelight Editions
  • Co-Publishing Partners
  • Globe Pequot
  • Down East Books
  • Falcon Guides
  • Gooseberry Patch
  • Lyons Press
  • Muddy Boots
  • Pineapple Press
  • TwoDot Books
  • Stackpole Books
PARTNERS
  • American Alliance of Museums
  • American Association for State and Local History
  • Brookings Institution Press
  • Center for Strategic & International Studies
  • Council on Foreign Relations
  • Fairleigh Dickinson University Press
  • Fortress Press
  • The Foundation for Critical Thinking
  • Lehigh University Press
  • United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
  • Other Partners...