Conversations in Jazz: The Ralph J. Gleason Interviews

Excellent read. The dialogue seems completely unedited and, as a result, you sometimes have to work at understanding what is being said. That shortcoming aside, one can only wish that the book was longer!

I love this book it’s an easy read and arrived just in time for my trip out of town

Sadly, I think there are many people who don't know Ralph Gleason's name. If you didn't come up in the '60s era (and especially if you're not a jazz fan) his name means nothing. And that's too bad because Gleason wrote about jazz and then the music that came out of S.F. in the late '60s like few did.The interviews included here were (except one) done in Gleason's living room. This book is the first time the complete interviews have been publicly available. Gleason wrote a long running newspaper column and was the jazz critic for the S.F. Chronicle. He understood and loved jazz and wrote about it with intelligence and insight. The interviews are from the years 1959-1961, and include a number of musicians who either had changed the sound of jazz (Bill Evans, Philly Joe Jones) or would do so in the near future (Coltrane, Rollins) to name just a few, along with a number of other well known musicians.Included are "back and forth" conversations (as opposed to a strict interview style) with people like Quincy Jones, John Lewis, Percy Heath, Horace Silver, Jon Hendricks, and other musicians who were passing through S.F. on tour. Gleason intended to use his interviews as information for his writing, and his ability to "get next to" his subjects shines through in these pieces. His writing style was always easy to digest and his observations and enthusiasm for the music gave readers more insight into the jazz genre.Deep jazz fans will want to check out this book. There's no photographs. This is a well made book, printed in America with archival paper used to preserve his writing. For me it's a good addition to my jazz library. Gleason was one of those people who both loved jazz and could put that feeling into his writing--no matter if if he was writing his column, album liner notes, or a stand alone piece for a magazine. And if his writing intrigues you check out another book of his work (released at the same time as this book) on jazz, blues, rock, and other subjects, "Music In The Air", also published by Yale University Press.

Ralph Gleason interviews the greats, Coltrane, Silver, Ellington, etc., in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Jazz pioneers speaking candidly because they know Gleason ‘gets’ them.

Wonderful and enlightening .

What a wonderful book this is. Ralph J. Gleason was a great jazz writer who wrote detailed liner notes, and was also the host of Jazz Casual on TV and did so many outstanding writings on Jazz for the San Francisco Chronicle. Love the book.

Ralph Gleason was an expert in getting these jazz folks to talk. They often have sharp, intelligent things to say about their music. A few end up in incoherence or, like Ellington, in avoidance. It's still a great collection for jazz lovers. --John Goodman, author of Mingus Speaks.

So enlightening to hear what all these musical role models have to say. I’ve so enjoyed seeing & hearing many of them in live settings but also enjoyed reading about their thoughts. What a great read! Thanks!

Gleason’s probing questions get the depth of response from these first-rate musicians that you don’t normally see. So, this is an excellent book of this “conversation/interview” type which I would thoroughly recommend to all fans of modern jazz. Cannot think of one better!

A great book with lots of new insights by all these Jazz icons. Great questions and stimulus by Ralph J. Gleason in probing and exploring the thought and aspirations of these legendary players and composers.

I came across this book while browsing Amazon after seeing some YouTube clips in which Ralph Gleason presents performances by Coltrane's Quartet during the early 60s. Gleason is an intuitive and knowledgeable interviewer, and he gets jazz greats like John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Horace Silver, etc. (all notoriously reticent figures) to open up about their creative processes. The book is like an engaging coffee table item you can read chapter by chapter in any sequence, gaining further insight into the performers' work. The book is well presented and arrived quickly in perfect condition.