Music & Movies

Experience a cool splash of music history from the Bayou State! This intensely personal and entertaining account is a snapshot of Blues from an outsider welcomed into the inner circles of Southern Blues icons. Englishman Julian C. Piper spent a year...

Little Willie John lived for a fleeting 30 years, but his dynamic and daring sound left an indelible mark on the history of music. His deep blues, rollicking rock 'n' roll and swinging ballads inspired a generation of musicians, forming the basis for...

The definitive biography of Chuck Berry, legendary performer and inventor of rock and roll Best known as the groundbreaking artist behind classics like "Johnny B. Goode," "Maybellene," "You Never Can Tell" and "Roll Over Beethoven," Chuck Berry was a...

The long-awaited memoir of Booker T. Jones, leader of the famed Stax Records house band, architect of the Memphis soul sound, and one of the most legendary figures in music. From Booker T. Jones's earliest years in segregated Memphis, music was the...

Whitney Houston was certified as the most awarded female artist of all time by Guinness World Records and sold over 200 million records worldwide. Houston released seven studio albums and two soundtrack albums and is regarded as one of the greatest...

"The power of song in the struggle for Black survival--that is what the spirituals and the blues are about." James H. Cone revolutionized American theology with the publication in 1969 and 1970 of his first groundbreaking works on Black Liberation...

Come to My Garden (1970) introduced the world to Minnie Riperton, the solo artist. Minnie captivated listeners with her earth-shattering voice's uncanny ability to evoke melancholy and exultance. Born out of Charles Stepney's masterful composition and...

From T. J. English, the New York Times bestselling author of Havana Nocturne, comes the epic, scintillating narrative of the interconnected worlds of jazz and organized crime in 20th century America.[A] brilliant and courageous book. --Dr. Cornel...

Legendary wordsmith Raekwon the Chef opens up about his journey from the staircases of Park Hill in Staten Island to sold-out stadiums around the world with Wu-Tang Clan in this revealing memoir--perfect for fans of The Autobiography of Gucci Mane and...

Seventy lost gems from the pen of Duke Ellington arranged as advanced piano solos that capture the music exactly as it was written. Now these titles are available for the first time in the U.S.A. Some of the songs are: New Orleans Lowdown * Sweet Mamma *...

(Jazz Piano Solos). 24 tunes from the '50s and '60s jazz cats who invented cool! Includes piano solo arrangements with chord names for: All Blues * Blue in Green * Con Alma * Django * Epistrophy * Jeru * Lullaby of Birdland * Nardis * So What * Stella by...

Award-winning actor, rapper, and producer Ice-T unveils a compelling and astonishing memoir of his early life robbing jewelry stores until he found fame and fortune--while a handful of bad choices sent his former crime partner down an incredibly...

The author of the magisterial A Biographical Guide to the Great Jazz and Pop Singers now approaches the great singers and their greatest work in an innovative and revelatory way: through considering their finest albums, which is the format in which this...

In To a Young Jazz Musician, the renowned jazz musician and Pulitzer Prize--winning composer Wynton Marsalis gives us an invaluable guide to making good music-and to leading a good life.Writing from the road "between the bus ride, the sound check, and...

In 1957, New York photojournalist Jerry Dantzic spent time with the iconic singer Billie Holiday during a week-long run of performances at the Newark, New Jersey, nightclub Sugar Hill. The resulting images offer a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse of Billie...

Many scholars have traced improvised music in Philadelphia back through ragtime to the prominent Black orchestras that played quadrilles and marches for high-society dances in the 19th century, with one of the most famous led by Philadelphian Francis...