Trumpet Blues: The Life of Harry James - Hardcover

"The surprise page-turner of the year is Peter Levinson's life of the swing-era star Harry James."--Gary Giddins, The Washington Post Book World "Encyclopedic and engaging...Harry James, his fabled horn, and the woman he won with it--Betty Grable--come to stunning life in this evocative tale of a time when big band music meant melody, virtuosity, and, yes, romance. Those were the good old days."--Mike Wallace, CBS News/Sixty Minutes "Levinson writes the way Harry James played, which makes Trumpet Blues an absolutely brilliant book, about an absolutely brilliant horn player."--Robert B. Parker, author of the popular Spenser mystery series "Impressive...a fascinating read not only for fans of jazz, but for students of 20th-century history, Hollywood, and the music business.... Levinson hooks the reader immediately."--Kirkus Reviews "Graphic and superb, and rich in insider anecdotes, it hits all the high and low notes."--Bill Bell, The Daily News "The surprise page-turner of the year is Peter Levinson's life of the swing-era star Harry James."--Gary Giddins, The Washington Post Book World "Encyclopedic and engaging...Harry James, his fabled horn, and the woman he won with it--Betty Grable--come to stunning life in this evocative tale of a time when big band music meant melody, virtuosity, and, yes, romance. Those were the good old days."--Mike Wallace, CBS News/Sixty Minutes "Levinson writes the way Harry James played, which makes Trumpet Blues an absolutely brilliant book, about an absolutely brilliant horn player."--Robert B. Parker, author of the popular Spenser mystery series "Impressive...a fascinating read not only for fans of jazz, but for students of 20th-century history, Hollywood, and the music business.... Levinson hooks the reader immediately."--Kirkus Reviews "Graphic and superb, and rich in insider anecdotes, it hits all the high and low notes."--Bill Bell, The Daily News "The surprise page-turner of the year is Peter Levinson's life of the swing-era star Harry James."--Gary Giddins, The Washington Post Book World "Encyclopedic and engaging...Harry James, his fabled horn, and the woman he won with it--Betty Grable--come to stunning life in this evocative tale of a time when big band music meant melody, virtuosity, and, yes, romance. Those were the good old days."--Mike Wallace, CBS News/Sixty Minutes "Levinson writes the way Harry James played, which makes Trumpet Blues an absolutely brilliant book, about an absolutely brilliant horn player."--Robert B. Parker, author of the popular Spenser mystery series "Impressive...a fascinating read not only for fans of jazz, but for students of 20th-century history, Hollywood, and the music business.... Levinson hooks the reader immediately."--Kirkus Reviews "Graphic and superb, and rich in insider anecdotes, it hits all the high and low notes."--Bill Bell, The Daily News "The surprise page-turner of the year is Peter Levinson's life of the swing-era star Harry James."--Gary Giddins, The Washington Post Book World "Encyclopedic and engaging...Harry James, his fabled horn, and the woman he won with it--Betty Grable--come to stunning life in this evocative tale of a time when big band music meant melody, virtuosity, and, yes, romance. Those were the good old days."--Mike Wallace, CBS News/Sixty Minutes "Levinson writes the way Harry James played, which makes Trumpet Blues an absolutely brilliant book, about an absolutely brilliant horn player."--Robert B. Parker, author of the popular Spenser mystery series "Impressive...a fascinating read not only for fans of jazz, but for students of 20th-century history, Hollywood, and the music business.... Levinson hooks the reader immediately."--Kirkus Reviews "Graphic and superb, and rich in insider anecdotes, it hits all the high and low notes."--Bill Bell, The Daily News

Swing is back in style, and with it a renewed interest in the big band era. And few players dominated that era more than Harry James, whose soaring trumpet solos and romantic hit tunes influenced popular music for a generation. Now, Peter J. Levinson, who knew Harry James personally, has written a revealing biography of this jazz icon, based on nearly 200 interviews with musicians and friends. Harry James led a truly colourful life, and in this book Levinson captures it all. Beginning with James's childhood in a travelling circus, the reader can follow the young trumpeter's meteoric rise in the 1930s and witness his electrifying performances with the Benny Goodman Orchestra and see how James formed his own band in 1939, an incubator for many pop music stars of the 1940s and '50s, including Frank Sinatra, Connie Haines, Dick Haymes, Helen Forrest, and Kitty Kallen. Combined with James's superb musicianship, peerless trumpet technique and talented sidemen, this stellar group dominated the war years and the immediate post-war period.