Marc Myers Why Jazz Happened

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Author, Blogger, Marc Myers

Mar Myers, Why Jazz Matters

Why Jazz Happened is the first comprehensive social history of jazz. It provides an intimate and compelling look at the many forces that shaped this most American of art forms and the many influences that gave rise to jazz’s many styles. Rich with the voices of musicians, producers, promoters, and others on the scene during the decades following World War II, this book views jazz’s evolution through the prism of technological advances, social transformations, changes in the law, economic trends, and much more.

In an absorbing narrative enlivened by the commentary of key personalities, Marc Myers describes the myriad of events and trends that affected the music’s evolution—among them, the American Federation of Musicians strike in the early 1940s, changes in radio and concert-promotion, the G.I. Bill, the introduction of the long-playing record, the suburbanization of Los Angeles, the Civil Rights movement, the “British invasion” and the rise of electronic instruments.

Bob Baldwin -][- You Better Ask Somebody! [Book]

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Bob Baldwin, Jazz, Keyboardist

Bob Baldwin, You Better Ask Somebody

You Better Ask Somebody! Staying On Top Of Your Career in the “Friggin’” Music Business is a music handbook that primarily helps prepare aspiring musicians to create a successful career in the music industry.

The handbook, created for high school and college level students, explains how aspiring musicians can create a successful career path and make a name in the industry while maintaining their integrity. It’s also a refresher course for veteran artists and a manager’s reference guide to improve their own work ethic.

The Other Side of Color: African American Art in the Collection of Camille O. and William H. Cosby, Jr. [Hardcover]

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African American, Art, Bill and Camille Cosby

The Other Side of Color: “African American Art in the Collection” of Camille O. and William H. Cosby, Jr. [Hardcover]

The Other Side of Color - David C. Driskell

David C. Driskell’s easy-to-read and thorough critique of the African American art experience—the other side of color—breaks new ground in presenting almost one hundred selections from a unique art collection that provides the context for this book.

First is an overview of the history of African American art–which in this country predates the Civil War–and a detailed explanation of the raison d’etre behind the Cosby collection. Part 2 discusses five prominent postcolonial African American artists who lead the way for future black artists and the struggles they overcame to promote cultural emancipation and acceptance in the American mainstream.

Subsequent parts reveal how African American artists continued the quest for recognition, culminating in the turning point of black culture in the twentieth century in the United States: The Harlem Renaissance. Throughout the discussions within each of the book’s six parts, beautiful full-color artworks from the Cosby collection highlight and validate Driskell’s writing. Rene Hanks’s biographies add even more information about the featured artists as well as indicate the locations of the major collections of their works.

-))- Amazon has new, used and collectible editions of this book.

..:: SOURCE: Amazon.com ::..

Randal Pinkett -][- Black Faces in White Places [Book]

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African, Randal Pinkett, The Apprentice

10 Game-Changing Strategies to Achieve Success and Find Greatness [Hardcover]

Randal Pinkett - BLACK FACES in WHITE PLACES

If the name Randal Pinkett sounds familiar, it may be because Pinkett was the first African-American winner on The Apprentice. When he won, this black man also became the only contestant to be asked to share his victory with a white woman. The request (and Pinkett’s subsequent refusal) set off a firestorm of controversy that inevitably focused on the issue of race in the American workplace and in society. For generations, African-Americans have been told that to succeed, they need to work twice as hard as everyone else. But as millions of black Americans were reminded by Pinkett’s experience, sometimes hard work is not enough.

Black Faces in White Places is about “the game” that is, the competitive world in which we all live and work. The book of fers 10 revolutionary strategies for playing, mastering, and changing the game for the current generation, while under taking a whole sale redefinition of the rules for those who will follow.

It is not only about shattering the old “glass ceiling,” but also about examining the four dimensions of the contemporary black experience: identity, society, meritocracy, and opportunity. Ultimately, it is about changing the very concept of success itself. Based on the authors’ considerable experiences in business, in the public eye, and in the minority, the book shows how African-American professionals can (and must) think and act both Entrepreneurially and “Intrapreneurially,” combine their collective strengths with the wisdom of others, and plant the seeds of a positive and lasting legacy. –Amazon.com | Product Description

..:: Source: Amazon.com ::..

Why Do I Have To Think Like A Man?

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African American, Author, Rhonda Frost, Shanae Hall

How To Think Like A Lady And Still Get The Man [Paperback] by Shanae Hall & Rhonda Frost

Shanae Hall is a former NFL wife, domestic violence survivor, and successful businesswoman. She is a popular TV and radio personality, frequenting programs like Jamie Foxx’s Sirius radio show ‘The Foxxhole,’ ‘Black Men Revealed’ (TV One) and ‘E! True Hollywood Story, Sports Stars, Private Lives.’ In 2005, she co-founded New Beginnings TRAP, a non-profit organization that empowers battered women to rebuild their lives.

She holds a B.A. in Film, Cinema and TV from California State University Northridge and is currently writing a screenplay adaptation of Why Do I Have to Think Like a Man?. A Sacramento native, she currently lives in Northern Los Angeles with her three children.

Rhonda Frost is the mother of three adult daughters and one teen son, and a prominent Realtor in the Atlanta area. She is a journalism student at Georgia State University and writes on finding love after 40 at More.com. –About the Author | Amazon

..:: Source: Amazon.com ::..

The Next Big Story by Soledad O’Brien

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CNN, News, Soledad O'Brien

“..a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at reporting.. It is a terrific read that is both inspiring and thought-provoking.” –Anderson Cooper, CNN, author, Dispatches from the Edge, a NY Times Best Seller

O’Brien is the child of a black Cuban mother and white Australian father, and her mixed-race heritage informed every step of her personal and professional voyage, one that took her from an isolated suburban Long Island childhood to the catbird’s seat at CNN’s anchor desk.

Acknowledging the distinctive sensibility she brings to her coverage of the day’s most divisive and dramatic events, O’Brien chronicles her early years in broadcast journalism as well as her present position as one of cable news’ most respected correspondents. To reveal how her story affects her approach to the people and subjects she covers, O’Brien shares a worldview that is rooted in diversity and communicated with compassion. By breaking down cataclysmic events such as hurricanes, tsunamis, and earthquakes into individual episodes of suffering, strength, and survival, O’Brien swiftly transforms the overwhelming into the understandable. Impassioned yet intimate, O’Brien’s electrifying memoir demonstrates her instinctive responsibility to present each crisis as a sacred opportunity to illuminate and educate her viewers. —Carol Haggas

..:: Source: Amazon.com

Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters by Barack Obama [Hardcover]

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Barack Obama, Children's Books, President Obama

Aimed at young children, Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters offers brief glimpses of how the contributions of a single person can touch lives, inspire others and sometimes, change the course of history. Written before he became president, Obama here chooses a baker’s dozen Americans to illustrate traits such as courage, creativity and intelligence that he sees in his daughters and encourages young people to find and develop in themselves. Those chosen – including George Washington, Jackie Robinson, Billie Holliday, Cesar Chavez, Helen Keller & Sitting Bull – capture ethnic diversity and include a good balance of men and women.

Barack Obama

While the text is sparse, the President has a nice turn of phrase and the accompanying artwork by Loren Long is simply wonderful. Best of all, though, is the subject, which offers a great jumping off point for parents to talk to their children, not only about the people profiled, but of their own talents and opportunities and of the importance of contributing to society.

I have something of a love affair with cover art and I just want to note that the cover of this book really appeals to me. The image of two young girls (Sasha and Malia Obama with their dog, Bo, but representative of all children) marching along with a spring in their step beautifully conveys an air of optimism and confidence – two things I long to see in all children and that our country could use more of at this time.

Highly recommended. –Mary Kate | Amazon

..:: Source: Amazon.com ::..

Obamanomics by John R. Talbott

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Barack Obama, Money, Politics

How Bottom-Up Economic Prosperity Will Replace Trickle-Down Economics

Obamanomics by John R. Talbott

Best-selling author John R. Talbott, widely regarded as one of the first to predict the current housing and mortgage crisis, turns his attention to the economic possibilities that are realistically achievable under a Barack Obama presidency.

Obama’s greatest strength is his ability to bring the country together. For too long divisions among races, religions, political views, cultures, genders, and sexual preferences have prevented Americans from coming together to solve the most important problems of our generation. Global warming, lobbying reform, poverty, health care, wars, terrorism, education, housing and banking reform, and energy and water shortages-these are complex global problems that Talbott argues cannot be left to the free market business world or individual governments to solve.

..:: Source: POTUSWorld.com ::..

The Jazz Loft Project

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African American, Jazz, Photography, Sam Stephenson

Eugene Smith from 821 Sixth Avenue, 1957-1965 By Sam Stephenson

The following is excerpted from the prologue of the book.

The Jazz Loft Project

W. Eugene Smith sits at the fourth-floor window of his dilapidated loft at 821 Sixth Avenue, New York City, near the corner of Twenty-eighth Street, the heart of Manhattan’s wholesale flower district. He peers out at the street below, several cameras at hand loaded with different lenses and film speeds. His window faces east from the west side of Sixth Avenue. The dawn light begins to rise behind the Empire State Building and other Midtown skyscrapers looming over the modest neighborhood.

Three musicians stand together on the sidewalk below talking and laughing. One holds an upright bass in its case, another has a saxophone case slung over his shoulder, and the other is smoking a cigarette. It is six o’clock in the morning; the temperature is a moderate thirty degrees. The musicians are going home after a night-long jam session. Smith snaps a few pictures.

..:: Source: The Jazz Loft Project ::..

Ron Carter – Finding the Right Notes (Paperback)

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Acoustic Bass, African American, Bass, Dan Ouellette, Ron Carter

Ron Carter, Finding the Right Notes

Ron Carter | Finding the Right Notes – (Paperback by Dan Ouellette, 2009)

Ron Carter, consummate musician and gentleman shares his remarkable journey into the pantheon of jazz greats in the just released Ron Carter: Finding the Right Notes, penned by veteran jazz journalist Dan Ouellette. Much like the bassist’s own propensity for moving the genre forward, this project takes the very tradition of biography forward with its multi-platform approach to storytelling. Though the book can be purchased online, the experience doesn’t end with the written word. Publisher ArtistShare incorporates new media elements such as podcasts, streaming video and audio clips, as well as exclusive photo galleries on the project websites.

Visit, RonCarterBass.com for information about this legendary bassist.

..:: Source: Pendulumswing.wordpress.com, also artistShare.com ::..