Marvin Martin

Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie – you've probably heard their music, but you may not realize it. If you're interested in music (or need to research a famous musician), this is a good volume to browse. The author gives short profiles of some of the most important jazz musicians, going in chronological order by the year they were born. He includes information about each musician's career, what they played and who they played with, how they made a difference in jazz music, and a little bit about their personal life.

The book has a lot of facts, so it's an excellent source of information for research projects or just to satisfy your curiosity about a certain musician. But it's not a very good resource for apprehending the grand arc of the history of jazz. Then again, the title doesn't imply that it does that.

Reviewed for the Emmet O'Neal Library Children's Department… (mere)

Liverpool. The Mersey Beat. The Cavern. Twist and Shout. Hamburg. Mop Tops. I Love You, Yeah Yeah Yeah. Ed Sullivan Show. Help! Shea Stadium. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. All You Need is Love. The Maharishi. Helter Skelter. Yellow Submarine. Yoko and Linda. Abbey Road. Let it Be. Readers will find all this and more in this lively biography of the Beatles.
People whose power, influence, or perseverance have changed the world are the subjects of these candid biographies, which stress the impact of these individuals on the course of 20th-century events. Each book includes a bibliography and an index. Liverpool. The Mersey Beat. The Cavern. Twist and Shout. Hamburg. Mop Tops. I Love You, Yeah Yeah Yeah. Ed Sullivan Show. Help! Shea Stadium. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. All You Need is Love. The Maharishi. Helter Skelter. Yellow Submarine. Yoko and Linda. Abbey Road. Let It Be. Readers will find all this and more in this lively biography of the Beatles.… (mere)