Dizzy, Duke, Brother Ray, and Friends

On and Off the Record with Jazz Greats

by Lillian Terry

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Pub Date Nov 03 2017 | Archive Date Dec 14 2017

University of Illinois Press

Biographies & Memoirs | Nonfiction (Adult)

Description

Lilian Terry has lived music. As a performer, she has shared the stage with Ella Fitzgerald and Nina Simone. She cofounded the European Jazz Federation and pioneered jazz education in Italy. Her work as a director-producer of radio and television programs have spread the music by introducing countless people to its legendary performers. Drawing on Terry's long friendships and professional associations, Dizzy, Duke, Brother Ray, and Friends offers readers a rare opportunity to hear intimate conversations with some of the world's greatest musical figures. Dizzy Gillespie offers his thoughts on playing with œsanctified ? rhythm and the all-important personal touch in performance. Duke Ellington discourses on jazz history and concludes an interview to sing a self-written ditty in Italian. Ray Charles gives candid thoughts on race and politics while taking charge of Terry's tape recorder. Abbey Lincoln, Max Roach, Horace Silver, Bill Evans ”all provide Terry and her readers with unforgettable encounters. The result is a collection of profiles, some stretching over a decade or more, that reveal these performers in ways that illuminates their humanity and expands our appreciation of their art.

Advance Praise

Praise for Lilian Terry: “Lilian Terry is of the music and for the music and she has the talent to use what she has learned in telling a story. There are a mess of wannabees who try so hard to be hip that they end up in the corn field. The bonafides are few and far between. Lil is the real deal."--Ira Gitler

Praise for Dizzy, Duke, Brother Ray, and Friends: “Lively, well-written, and engaging. Lilian Terry has written nuanced portraits gained from the affection and trust these artists placed in her personally, as a professional in her field, as well as being a talented jazz singer. These writings uniformly go beyond these artists as stars to what makes them human. There is a lot of jazz history here."--Tad Hershorn, author of Norman Granz: The Man Who Used Jazz for Justice

“Terry’s book illuminates the artistic outlooks and personal values of well-known jazz musicians. Much of this book’s uniqueness and appeal comes from the author’s trusted relationships with her subjects. They opened up to her in ways that they did not to conventional interviewers.”--Carl Woideck, author of Charlie Parker: His Music and Life