Today marks the launch of artsjournal.com’s first jazz blog, Rifftides, written by veteran jazz journalist Doug Ramsey. In lieu of a recommendation, allow me to quote from what I wrote in The Wall Street Journal in April about Doug’s latest book, Take Five: The Public and Private Lives of Paul Desmond:
It’s a serious, thoughtful book, as lucidly written as a first-class literary biography….While “Take Five: The Public and Private Lives of Paul Desmond” contains plenty of show-stopping gossip, it is in no way a pathography. Scrupulously researched and written with an attractive combination of affection and candor, it casts a bright light on Desmond’s troubled psyche without devaluing his considerable achievements as an artist. “Any of the great composers of melodies–Mozart, Schubert, Gershwin–would have been gratified to have written what Desmond created spontaneously,” Mr. Ramsey says. Strong words, but “Take Five” makes them stick.
Welcome to the blogosphere, Doug. It’s a pleasure to have you aboard.