Verve

The Sound of America

£45.00
£45.00

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'Alec Clifton-Taylor brilliantly explores and analyses (by period and style) the evolving pattern of our medieval cathedrals … the result is the most enjoyable and stimulating introduction to the subject that I have yet encountered' <i>Daily Telegraph</i>

The story of Verve Records is the story of jazz. Verve signed practically every major jazz artist of the fifties and sixties and is home to some of the greatest music ever recorded. Norman Granz, the record label?s founder, also organised hugely influential, high-profile, racially integrated concerts, first at the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and then at venues across America and then around the world.

This volume is the ultimate guide to the artists and the music that made Verve great and jazz cool.

Verve have opened up their archive and provided access to some of their rarest material. Features on the label?s key artists and key albums are guaranteed to interest both curious newcomers and dedicated fans ? illustrated with both iconic and unseen photographs from some of the finest jazz photographers, classic cover art and ephemera, and insightful timelines.
Extent: 400 pp
Format: Hardback without Jacket
Publication date: 2013-11-04
Size: 27.7 x 21.6 cm
ISBN: 9780500517147

Press Reviews

The assemblage of glorious archive photographs, tour posters, album sleeves and ephemera is eye-poppingly beautiful
Daily Telegraph

Turns the story of a record label into a gloriously lively history of jazz; the book’s design almost makes you hear the music as you read
Peter Conrad, Observer (Books of the Year)

I was sooooo inspired just holding the book and turning the pages that I decided to pick a couple of Verve tracks to play ... I’ll never stop reading this instantly historical and beautifully written book
Bruce Johnston, The Beach Boys

Rare and unseen material captured for an in-depth book tracing the history of the legendary jazz label
Music Week

About the Author

Richard Havers was Universal Music’s jazz consultant. He produced box sets, including '100 Years of the Blues', 'Louis Armstrong – Ambassador of Jazz', 'Ella – The Voice of Jazz', 'Verve ­– The Sound of America', 'Blue Note’s Uncompromising Expression' and a ten-CD career retrospective of Nat King Cole. He wrote numerous sleeve notes and books to accompany album and DVD releases, including many for The Rolling Stones. A prolific music writer he won the Blues Foundation’s Award for Literature in 2002. His articles have been published in the Daily Telegraph, The Times, Goldmine and Record Collector.

Herbert Herbie Hancock is an American pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, composer and actor.

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