Lost Chords - Revisited By Richard M. Sudhalter
© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.
"Sudhalter's monumental contribution to the complex story of American music is without precedent. Let no one search Lost Chords for revisionist history: this history-within-history has never been written before—certainly not with such breadth, depth, and musicianly insight. And let no one hunt here for polemics: there are none. What is here is an extraordinary summing-up of three decades of music-making by jazzmen (poet Carl Sandburg's 1920 addition to the American language), who listened to and jammed with other "cats of any color" (to appropriate Louis Armstrong's collegia!, and typically generous, salute to fellow musicians), and who then passed along to all within earshot of nightly coast-to-coast remote-control broadcasts and omnipresent recording what they had learned and nourished."
— James T. Maher, writer and historian
If you ever wanted to know the standards for writing as a Jazz critic, the following article will help set them for you. In Mr. Sudhalter’s case, he sets the bar very high and well he should because a poorly prepared review can be ruinous for the artist and leave the reader grossly misinformed.
Besides having written LOST CHORDS: WHITE MUSICIANS AND THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS TO JAZZ - 1915-1945, the earlier BIX: MAN AND LEGEND, and numerous magazine and newspaper articles, Richard M. (Dick) Sudhalter is an internationally regarded jazz trumpet and fluegelhorn soloist, and a Challenge recording artist. His latest release is MELODIES HEARD, MELODIES SWEET (Challenge CD CHR 70055). At the time of this writing, Sudhalter was working on a critical biography of composer Hoagy Carmichael which was subsequently published in 2003 as STARDUST MELODY: THE LIFE AND MUSIC OF HOAGY CARMICHAEL.
His books are some of the greatest treasures in the Jazz canon and if you have not read them, I strongly urge you to do so as the will enrich your Jazz Experience immeasurably.
Mr. Sudhalter passed away in 2008.
“Saxophonist-composer Bill Kirchner, a most perceptive fellow, put it perfectly: "this book is going to be a Rorschach test," he said, "but not for you. The ways in which people respond to it will tell you a lot about themselves."
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