Quintet of the Year

At the heart of this brilliant book is the historical concert at Massey Hall, Toronto with Dizzy Gillispie, Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus, Max Roach and Bud Powell. The author begins the book with bios of each man, tracing their musical evolution and significance in jazz up to the moment of the concert. After the incredibly detailed description of the concert, Haydon follows each player as they go their own way into jazz history. Haydon is that rare sort of music writer who has an incredible technical grasp of his subject and is able to write about it passionately but without gushing effusion or mystification. His analysis of the music of the concert in particular is remarkably acute and perceptive. He writes about each man with great clarity and humanity. I found his narrative about Bud Powell particularly fascinating and well done. He also devotes much space to describing the important recordings of the men prior to and after the concert in the same highly detailed fashion. Wonderfully readable and informative, this book should be in the library of anyone interested in bebop in particular and jazz in general. Excellent stuff!