REALLY THE BLUES - Tapa blanda

Its hard-boiled poetry, its tales of woe and wonder, told in the racy vernacular of a hipster s tongue. Imagine Dylan s Chronicles, written by Damon Runyon, and you ll get an idea of this book s conversational intimacy... More than anything, though, this book is an extended celebration of the redemptive power of the jazz that inspired it. --Uncut

Mind-blowing... To say that he lived in colourful times (no pun intended) is an understatement, and, written as it is in jazz slang... it bustles along with an energy that makes it hard to put down... For a slice of alternative US pre-war culture, it s hard to beat. --fRoots

One of the key autobiographies in popular music... A first hand account of the jazz/blues world of the day the street life, blues roadhouses, brothels, bars and the honky tonks as well as his own view of some of the great musical personalities of the day... An eye witness account of the birth of jazz/blues. --Shades of Blue

Mezz Mezzrow was born in 1899, and organised (and played in) some of the most famous recording sessions of the 1930's and 40's. He was jailed in 1940 for possession of marijuana and died in 1972. Bernard Wolfe was a journalist who met Mezz Mezzrow in the 1940's and helped him to write his autobiography. Barry Gifford is the biographer of Jack Kerouac and the novelist of 'Wild at Heart', among others.