Bøger af Con Chapman

The riveting biography of one of the world's greatest yet lesser-known jazz musicians

Everyday Noir is a collection of parodies written in the hard-boiled and cynical style of detective fiction set in mundane, everyday surroundings. Instead of stakeouts and police stations, the author finds evil lurking at Girl Scout cookie sales, suburban soccer fields, faculty lounges, law firm pro bono programs--even spelling bees. Noir is where you find it. They may be fiction, but in this crazy, mixed-up world, that's about as close as any of us will ever come to the truth. Which isn't very close.

A collection of humorous sketches of imaginary Bostonians, including matadors, gauchos, a man who is transformed into rock 'n roll pioneer Bo Diddley on his way to work, a crime reporter with a succession of goldfish who die under suspicious circumstances, a . . . well, you get the idea.

There is no stronger tie than that which binds a father to his sons. Well, maybe the one that connects sons to their mother, but that's different. The father-son relationship is one that hums to mystic chords of foolishness and bravado; a mother comes into the room and suddenly a strain in A minor is heard, and it's time to take a bath and go to bed. For men like me who grew up without brothers, sons are another chance at a boyhood we never knew; a chance to punch your sibling in the arm and not get double-crossed by a two-timing broad for the first time in your life as your sister yells "Mom-he hit me!" down the stairs after she told you to do it! These stories are an account of my journey through my sons' first childhood as I experience my second. I've changed my kids' names to the all-purpose generic monickers "Scooter," the older of the two, and "Skipper" his younger brother, to protect their innocence. The statute of limitations on what some would call arson is apparently quite long. These tales of youthful hi-jinx under one dad's semi-adult supervision will demonstrate for you the truth of the age-old adage: You're only young once, but you can remain immature-forever.

The first comprehensive work on the subject in over 15 years, this book draws on new research to delve deeper into music of the American Midwest that evolved into Kansas City jazz, and includes profiles of individual musicians who developed very different styles within or beyond the framework of the sub-genre.

KIMIKO CHOU is a girl on a mission. Her mother and brother have been killed by robbers in 14th century Japan while her father, a samurai warrior, is off on an invasion of Korea.Chou ("butterfly" in Japanese) narrowly escapes death by hiding while the robbers ransack her home, then-dressed as a boy in her brother''s clothes-she goes in quest of her father. Alone on the road, she takes up with Hyōgo Narutomi, a former samurai who has been dismissed by seven previous masters, and Moto Mori, his page.The three of them-man, boy, and girl-make their way across Japan along with Piebald, an old horse with a curious spot on his coat that resembles a Fenghuang, the mythical bird that rules over all others in Asian mythology. Together this unlikely trio experience a series of adventures and narrow escapes until Chou and Mori-but not Narutomi-land in Korea. There, as a spy for the Koreans, Chou searches for her father-across enemy lines!

The first full-length biography of Johnny Hodges, Rabbit's Blues tells the story of one of the premier saxophonists in jazz history, who brought the woody tone and bluesy technique of New Orleans music to the hot East Coast jazz of the Ellington orchestra.