Music & Movies

Get into the music with David Leander Williams as he charts the rise and fall of Indiana Avenue, the Majestic Entertainment Boulevard of Indianapolis, which produced some of the nation's most influential jazz artists. The performance venues that once line

Incurable Blues explores the life and genius of Hubert Sumlin, a highly influential guitarist who has survived cancer, alcoholism, and personal and professional tribulations to testify to the classic days of Chicago blues. Sumlin's incendiary guitar...

(Music Sales America). A brilliant and instructive treatise on the principles of jazz piano improvisation. Deals with all aspects, including a survey of piano styles from 1900 (stride piano) to the present day (contemporary jazz piano). A book which will...

Both the beginning performer and the curious listener will gain from this book, as Coker explains the major concepts of jazz, including blues, harmony, swing and the characteristic chord progressions. A self-teaching guide is included, and gives the...

If you've ever listened to music created by Cellus Hamilton, you are aware that he is much more than a rapper. His lyrics are multidimensional, revealing him to be a sort of scholarly visionary. Because music is often subject to the listener's...

Hall of Fame disc jockey Tom Joyner uses his signature brand of humor to discuss everything from business to careers to relationships as he shares the insights and lessons he's learned along the way.Now the host of a radio show that is the most popular...

"A biography that will send readers back to the music of Mavis and the Staple Singers with deepened appreciation and a renewed spirit of discovery" (Kirkus Reviews, starred review)--from the acclaimed music journalist and author featured prominently in...

Skip James (1902-1969) was perhaps the most creative and idiosyncratic of all blues musicians. Drawing on hundreds of hours of conversations with James himself, Stephen Calt here paints a dark and unforgettable portrait of a man untroubled by his own...

These are just a few of Willie Dixon's contributions to blues, R&B, and rock'n'roll--songs performed by artists as varied as the Rolling Stones, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, ZZ Top, the Doors, Sonny Boy Williamson, the Grateful Dead, Van Morrison,...

Winner of the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work, author and photographer Hal Banfield brings this photographic series to life in the pages of his debut book. Capturing the grace, beauty, and strength of black dancers in motion, I Am Dance:...

"...a play about power, leadership, and the rough-and tumble process of social change. In its multifaceted search for the meaning behind the headline-grabbing events in Memphis, and in its depiction of the roots of black-vs.-black power struggles, it...

Enter the mind of Demetrius Walker as he fights for the American Dream amidst the intergenerational struggles of poverty, daddy issues, and religious conviction. I Am a Black Man is a memoir that examines love, fatherhood, spirituality, and emotional...