Keystone Korner: Portrait of a Jazz Club Review

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Keystone Korner: Portrait of a Jazz Club ReviewLarge (81/2" X 10") soft cover with an accompanying 71 minute CD. Artists featured on the disc are-Rahsaan Roland Kirk, McCoy Tyner, Woody Shaw, Dexter Gordon, Bill Evans, Stan Getz, Cedar Walton, and Art Blakey. All the tracks have been previously issued, but if you're new to, or want to hear some fine jazz by these artists, the CD will be an eye-opener. All the tracks are well recorded-like the respective albums by these artists. The many (good quality) b&w photographs add depth and feeling to the text. Also included is a Discography of artists recorded at the club-very helpful for those new to all this, or fans wanting to hear more.
"the number one jazz club in the world today"-Stan Getz.
"God, the music was fantastic. The sound was great, the vibe was great, the music was live."-George Cables.
"you could sleep all night in the back of the office there."-Dave Liebman.
This good, unassuming book by Kathy Sloane-who photographed and interviewed the many people in the book-is an inside, fond look at one of the best jazz clubs on the West Coast, and possibly in the U.S. Sloane has interviewed a wide spectrum of folks-from many musicians, to writers, waitresses, the soundman, and record/jazz industry people. Included are musicians Eddie Henderson, Carl Burnett, Dave Liebman, Calvin Keys, Eddie Marshall, George Cables, Ronnie Mathews, and others. There's also insights by well known jazz producer Orrin Keepnews, and others with good insight/recollections of the club and it's people-both on and off stage. Together, the photos and the interviews/recollections paint a good inside picture of the Keystone's era.
During the club's relatively short life span (approximately 10 years or so as a jazz club), jazz lovers (like me) could hear, up close, many of jazz's greatest musicians. Only about 200 fans could squeeze in at any one time, but the intimate feel was a good setting for hearing some fine jazz. The original Keystone Korner hosted musicians like Mike Bloomfield, Elvin Bishop, Jerry Garcia, Merl Saunders, and many others. But new owner Todd Barkan focused strictly on jazz-good jazz. Operating (like other jazz clubs) on a very low/non-existent budget, Barkan drew many of the finest jazz musicians to the Keystone for many memorable nights of jazz. The Keystone (especially) introduced great jazz to both a newer generation, and to longtime jazz lovers, and sitting in the club was a truly memorable experience.
But this book isn't just for those who "were there"-it's for anyone who wants an inside look at the times, the music, and the atmosphere of a cool little club that featured big names in jazz. This great unassuming look at a specific place in jazz history could be easily overlooked by jazz fans-to their detriment. If jazz is your thing, and you like reading about musicians/eras/locales-you'll like this book. Even if you weren't lucky enough to sit at the Keystone, this book will put you there. The many atmospheric photographs (some fairly large size) of artists like Bobby Hutcherson, Dexter Gordon (a shot of his hand and horn is great), Betty Carter (in full swing), a smiling Percy Heath (playing his double bass), Max Roach (playing a cymbal in plaid pants), Sam Rivers and Dave Holland (on stage), Elvin Jones, Chico Freeman, and Dave Liebman (onstage and intense), and many others, helps to bring the sound of jazz alive. Other photos backstage (Carla Bley smoking her pipe and Charlie Haden in a close conversation), Pharoah Sanders (relaxing backstage) help put everything in perspective. Combined with the interviews, this is a good, personal view into a small slice of the jazz world.
Hopefully this fine book will be read by more jazz fans. Besides opening a window into the Keystone Korner world, it will serve as a launching point for jazz fans to discover some great live jazz recorded at the club. Albums by Dexter Gordon ("Nights at the Keystone"-if they're still available), Rahsaan Roland Kirk ("Bright Moments"), and Freddie Hubbard ("Keystone Bop"-both discs), and a number of others are filled with great, exciting, important jazz. Check them out. But I will say, as one critic wrote (and I paraphrase), listening to the accompanying disc while reading this book, is a real treat-it adds more flavor, and more feeling to an era now gone. Reading this book/hearing the music, is close to being in a time machine-back to a wonderful era when jazz was still going strong. And the Keystone Korner was a part of that. This book deserves to be more widely known.Keystone Korner: Portrait of a Jazz Club Overview

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