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But Beautiful: A Book About Jazz by Geoff Dyer - 4* - My Review

Based on real jazz musicians, Geoff Dyer has improvised and imagined stories of their lives. It blends fiction with non-fiction. Musicians include Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, Thelonius Monk, Chet Baker, John Coltrane, Lester Young, Ben Webster, Art Pepper, Bud Powell, and more. This is a beautifully written set of stories, riffing on a theme, which calls to mind the performances of jazz music. Each story focuses on different musicians, and includes the challenges they faced in life, such as racism, drug addictions, alcohol abuse, financial difficulties, and mental health issues.

I was looking for a book about jazz and came across this little gem. From my various reading experiences, I find it difficult to find well-written books about music, but Dyer does a wonderful job! The writing is brilliant. I particularly enjoyed the vignettes of Duke Ellington and Harry Carney on the road. I could easily picture the use of natural phenomena in the creation of music. I’ve been in this car, except without Harry and Duke:

“Thunder stumbled around in the darkness. A few drops of rain splattered the windshield and then a storm engulfed them. Wind howled across the fields, pummeling the side of the car. Rain drilled the roof. Harry looked across at Duke, slumped in his seat and gazing ahead, the headlights of approaching cars splashing like fireworks in the streaming windshield. It was exactly episodes like this that found their way into his music in one way or another.”

PBT Steeplechase - tagged "jazz" x71:
https://www.goodreads.com/work/shelve...

PBT July BWF Extra B/D - fits letters not tag