Dizzy, Duke, Brother Ray, and Friends by Lillian Terry is an interesting look at some of the major jazz stars. Terry, as a singer, became friends with these artists and this represents her recollections of talking with and interviewing them.

I wanted to enjoy this book so much more. I love jazz and these are some of the greats. I have a limited listening knowledge of Terry but remember her as a good singer with a smooth sultry voice. I just knew I would love this. I was wrong. I found myself put off by Terry's writing voice to the point where I found myself not really liking her. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying I disliked her, just that I didn't like her. Likely a clash of personality types, she seems like a good person and she loves jazz so she has to be okay. So that aspect is more about me than the book but there it is.

While the book as a whole was choppy, more like a collection of essays than a book telling about an era of jazz, I also found each chapter rather disjointed as well. I would have preferred this to either be a memoir (which I initially thought it was) or a book about these jazz greats. As it is, it became a jumbled mess of both to the extent that she kept interrupting the stories from the others with bits about herself. It simply did not flow and I became frustrated with it.

Having said all that, this is still a very interesting book, but one that requires more effort than it should. I realized by skimming some of her asides (usually about herself and how they all thought so highly of her) I could get the flow of what the stars were saying or doing. There is some important jazz history here and on that alone this is worth reading. And it is on that basis I would recommend this to jazz fans.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

My dad was the one who first introduced me to jazz. I loved reading these stories about some of jazz's greats through the eyes of a fellow jazz musician. Well written, and a fun read.

I learned a lot about the artists...and the author through her interviews and interactions with them.

This is a collection of interviews/conversations that Jazz singer Lilian Terry shared with others Jazz artists. The setup of the book was a bit different than what I was expecting; I thought it would have the style of a memoir; instead each chapter is dedicated to a different artist and the chapters are divided into short anecdotal narrations involving Terry and the Jazz artists she met throughout her career. The book has interesting material but I did not enjoy reading it as much as I thought I would, and part of this is because at times the narration felt a little choppy. I found myself thinking that it could be a good reference resource because of the way it is presenting the information. Additionally, Jazz fans would very much enjoy learning more about their musical idols such as Duke Ellington, Abbey Lincoln, and Horace Silver among others.