NPR Curious Listener's Guide to Popular Standards FROM OUR EDITORS
Another entry in NPR's noteworthy series. Musician and NPR fixture Max Morath has constructed a guide to popular standards that is guaranteed to broaden your aesthetic. Whether your tastes lean towards blues, jazz, rock 'n' roll, or big band, Morath offers word maps to every major musician and lyricist. The NPR Curious Listener's Guide to Popular Standards covers every major singer from Sinatra to Aguilera; every major composer from Irving Berlin to Stephen Sondheim. Music hounds will greet Morath's list of 75 pop standard CDs with wonder.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
* Every major singer from Frank Sinatra to Christina Aguilera * Every major composer from Irving Berlin to Stephen Sondheim * Every major song from a century of favorites * Every major musician and lyricist * Every major styling from blues, jazz, and country to folk, big band, and rock and roll * The most recorded songs of all time * A guide to understanding the "standard" lingo * The evolution of popular music from Tin Pan Alley to contemporary musical theater, and more
Author Biography: Max Morath, a highly acclaimed ragtime musician, is the author of The Road to Ragtime, and contributor to Jazz: A Reader's Companion. Heard on NPR's "Performance Today" and having appeared on a number of public television specials, Morath has recorded for the Vanguard and Solo labels and continues to tour widely.
FROM THE CRITICS
Library Journal
With the imprimatur of National Public Radio, these entries constitute an auspicious beginning to a new series that will total four titles (those on jazz and classical music will be released in fall 2002). Berger (Verdi with a Vengeance, Wagner Without Fear) and ragtime pianist Morath obviously have great affection for and knowledge of their subjects. Directed to lay readers, their witty and informative handbooks include introductory frameworks; historical development and contexts; short biographical treatment of major figures such as composers, performers, and conductors; a "deconstruction" section interpreting the genre; a glossary; details on the major songs or operas; discographies (30 suggested CDs in Opera and 75 in Popular Standards); and selected resources for further study, including web sites. The opinionated remarks (Morath writes that Louis Armstrong is "the twentieth century's dominant figure in American music") and recording choices are sure to provoke comments among aficionados. Facts are generally reliable, explanations are assured, and the sidebars are especially interesting. The Morath volume nicely complements William Zinsser's recent Easy To Remember: The Great American Songwriters and Their Songs (LJ 2/1/01), while Berger's provides a contrast to opinions offered in books like Michael Walsh's Who's Afraid of Opera? (S. & S., 1994). With their affordability and upbeat tone, both guides are enthusiastically recommended for public libraries. (Indexes not seen.) Barry Zaslow, Miami Univ. Libs., Oxford, OH Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
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