A Century of Big Bands
Fifty of the Best
Michael Gilchrist
Paperback, 226 pages, $29.95
ISBN: 9781923224025
April 2024 release.
Michael Gilchrist, a confessed big band ‘tragic’, has spent a
lifetime collecting big band albums, videos, and books, and attended
numerous live concerts. In A Century of Big Bands, he shares his
experiences.
While he enjoys classical music and jazz, his softest spot has been
for big bands which he believes combine the best qualities of classical
music and jazz. For those ready for a change from the 'wall-to-wall'
guitars of contemporary pop, rock and country, big bands offer endless
instrumental variety.
A Century of Big Bands traces the evolution of big bands from the
turn of the 20th century to today. While big bands no longer dominate
the popular music landscape as they did during the Swing Era in the
1930s and 1940s, they remain in good health, in different contexts.
Fifty of the Best traces the evolution of bands from the Roaring '20s
to the present through brief biographies of some of 'best', like Duke
Ellington and Benny Goodman, along with suggestions on where their
albums can be obtained. If you're not already a 'tragic' like Gilchrist,
why not give big bands a try?
Michael Gilchrist has taught in secondary schools, lectured in
teacher education, and edited a religious journal, besides writing books
on politics, history, and religion. He now lives in retirement on a
Victorian rural property, enjoying the company of his wife, adult sons,
and numerous grandchildren. On his occasional trips to the US, he visits
New York's fabled jazz clubs.
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