Hardback
269 pgs.
Yale University Press
Illustrated.
A deeply personal account of Lees encounters with Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry, Milt Hinton, and Nat "King" Cole. Equal parts memoir, Oral history, and commentary, each of the main chapters is a mini-biography, weaving together conversations Gene Lees had with the musicians and their families, friends, and associates over a period of several decades. The underlying theme in this book is the impact racism had on the four musicians' lives and careers and their determination to overcome it.
