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“Kansas City Lightning succeeds as
few biographies of jazz musicians have…This book is a magnificent achievement;
I could hardly put it down.”
— Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
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“It takes a lifetime of passionate engagement to
write with the intensity and depth of Stanley Crouch…The results are
insightful, profound, and wholly original…This a must-read, not just for jazz
fans, but for anyone interested in American possibilities.”
— Wynton Marsalis
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“A portrait of the young Charlie Parker with a degree of
vivid detail never before approached…[Kansas City Lightning is] a
deft, virtuosic panorama of early jazz…This is a mind-opening, and
mind-filling, book.”
— Tom Piazza
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“This is a memorable book…Stanley Crouch takes
us deep into places most of us can only imagine—including into the heart of the
mysterious split-second alchemy that takes place nightly on the bandstand.”
— Geoffrey C. Ward, National Book Critics Circle Award–winning author
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“[A] riveting, long-awaited book…Here is Bird
making his watershed discoveries before he fired his own lightning bolts.”
— Gary Giddins, National Book Critics Circle Award–winning author
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“The soul of Stanley Crouch joins the soul of
the legendary jazz legend…Crouch re-creates ‘the Bird’ with his writer’s talents
at their peak and the result is magical.”
— Huffington Post
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“It’s a book about a jazz hero written in a
heroic style…a bebop Beowulf.”
— New York Times
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“Award-winning Crouch takes a deep look at
[Parker’s] rich life.”
— Denver Post
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“Social and cultural critic, columnist, and
MacArthur Genius Crouch offers a mix of impressionist strokes, historical facts,
and context in his masterful Charlie Parker bio.”
— New York Post
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“Meticulous and steeped in local lore…Feel[s] as
urgent as a blast from Parker’s saxophone.”
— Kansas City Star
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“Fans of Mr. Crouch have been waiting so long for him to
complete this volume, which is the first installment in a two-part series, that
it has taken on a kind of mythic status. It lives up to its aura.”
— New York Observer
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“[Crouch] crafts lush scenes and crackling music writing…Jazz
fans will want to read this book…This is a thorough and entertaining account of
one of the greatest rises—and the prelude to one of the greatest falls—in jazz
history.”
— NPR.org
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“Stanley Crouch has a store of fresh information for you in
his new book about Charlie Parker, the genius of American music universally
known as Bird, and invaluable insights to offer into the meaning of Parker’s
achievement. It is imperative that you come into possession of this material.”
— Daily Beast
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“Crouch captures with novelistic verve the excitement of
[the] period…[Charlie Parker] has daunted even, perhaps especially, awestruck
biographers. Crouch’s eyes are wide open, and he lends his considerable talents
to a jazz biography that ranks with the very best.”
— Booklist (starred review)
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“With the straight-ahead timing and the ethereal blowing of
a great jazzman, Crouch delivers a scorching set in this first of two volumes
of his biography of Charlie Yardbird Parker, capturing the downbeats and the
up-tempo moments of the great saxophonist’s life and music.”
— Publishers Weekly
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“Stanley Crouch’s work is perhaps the most important writing
on jazz today…This outstanding book is food for the soul for any serious
listener of jazz music.”
— Madhav Chari, jazz pianist
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“Crouch…is uniquely qualified to guide readers on this tour…A
story rich in musical history and poignant with dramatic irony.”
— Kirkus Reviews