Singin' on Central Avenue African American Jazz in Los Angeles [Hardcover]

This book is one which, as soon as youve finished it, you want to go back to the beginning and start again, because the detail on the gigs that people played is extraordinary. . . .Absolutely fascinating.The author has rescued a clutch of instrumentalists from obscurity. . . .Vacher has given us a valuable addition to the Central Avenue library, as rich in personal experience as it is broad in range.Swingin On Central Avenue is a welcome addition to jazz history for dedicated West Coasters.Anyone who has read Vachers other books . . . will already be familiar with his quiet erudition and respectful courtesy; Swingin on Central Avenue is another fine addition to his oral-history oeuvre.Our man Vacher has done it again . . . he has assembled another expertly-edited oral histories by less renowned musicians.Swingin' on Central Avenue . . . present[s] a picture of an important jazz community.The book has a substantial photo section, a comprehensive bibliography, and a decent index. Whats not to like?It is an irresistible book, and I speak as someone who finds many books  after decades of reading  utterly resistible. Peter Vacher . . . is one of those rare multi-talented writers. . . .Every jazz fancier I know would find something delightfully memorable in these pages. . . .The book is entertaining, powerful, and eye-opening. ?Peter Vacher has surpassed himself, and that is saying a great deal.This fascinating oral history project. . . .[is] a welcome study that goes first-person and behind-the-scenes of a vibrant, colorful jazz community.Anyone interested in African-American music in California will find it a worthwhile addition to their shelves.The interviews with pianist Chester Lane, bassist Billy Hadnott and trombonist John 'Streamline' Ewing resulted in many surprising insights and fascinating details.Peter Vachers Swingin on Central Avenue is a marvelous time capsule of a book that takes readers back to the days of taxi dances, barnstorming dance bands, al#˜