Jazz in the Bittersweet Blues of Life

An intimate exploration of the life and work of an artist. This book presents a chronicle of a year on the road and in the studio with Wynton Marsalis and his acclaimed septet, highlighting the crucial period that culminated in Marsalis's full maturity of a composer.

---

Travel into the creative heart of the world's most famous jazz musician . Experience the inspiration and joy of creation and performance in Jazz in the Bittersweet Blues of Life , an intimate portrait of a unique artist and his audience. Set in the studio, on the stage, and in great cities and small towns across the country, this book captures life on the road for Marsalis and his musicians, evoking its ritual and renewal, energy and spirituality. Describing the art of improvisation, the book's two voices mirror the interplay at the heart of jazz. "On the road and on the bandstand," Marsalis writes, "something great may happen at any moment, something that might even change your life." Alternately luminous and boisterous, often poignant, and always passionate, Marsalis and Vigeland's extraordinary dialogue is a must for fans, musicians, and anyone curious about America's only indigenous art form.