Dear all: I’ve been working on a new book for the past few years, which will explain my silence. It’s about the deeper roots of the Haight Ashbury and the ‘60s counterculture, going back to the poets and abstract expressionist painters of the ‘40s, then all kinds of ‘50s culture including of course the Beats, and then the transition into “hippie.” It’s called “The Last Great Dream.” I’m maybe 2/3 done with the first draft, which means you won’t see it all that soon, but it’s close enough to reality to talk about, at least a little.
I’m telling you all this because some nice people persuaded me to put together a list of books about jazz. It’s shown as “best,” but I’ll just say confidently that these are five great books I can recommend without question. And those nice people asked me to put this up on my website. So here you. are. I will be in touch, hopefully sooner than later.
https://shepherd.com/best-books/about-jazz
Cheers, Dennis