"Jazz and cinema, the two definitive art forms of the 20th Century, have led an often troubled co-existence.
Play the Way You Feel traces the frequent missteps and occasional triumphs of jazz in film with the deep knowledge, superior taste, and acerbic wit we have come to expect from Kevin Whitehead. ÂAn essential book for all jazz fans, and a necessary corrective for anyone whose knowledge of the music is based on what they have learned at the movies." – Bob Blumenthal, author of
Jazz: An Introduction to the History and Legends Behind America's Music"A revelation! From the bad to the beautiful, Kevin Whitehead brilliantly illuminates each frame to show us why jazz in the movies matters in all its incarnations. He masterfully guides us through this rich and complicated story, making connections that reveal deeper meanings and aha moments that change our view of jazz, film and ourselves." – Dominique Eade, Jazz Vocalist and Teacher, New England Conservatory
"Whitehead's concise responses deliver the answers that reveal his deep knowledge of the music and sharp style. Even readers who never touched a piano will be able to follow his summation of why bebop was such a radical departure. This book belongs on the syllabus of all introductory jazz courses." –
Downbeat,
Editors' Pick "Whitehead is a pithy writer, stylish without getting sidetracked by his own cleverness." –ChicagoReader.com
"It used to be said that anyone who immediately appreciated new and different musical approaches in jazz "had ears." Mr. Whitehead has ears, and a catholicity of taste to accurately describe, although not necessarily subscribe to, different kinds of jazz. He possesses the critical tools to differentiate between the authentic and the bogus, and he has a clear writing style that enables him (for the most part) to write about complicated music in an understandable way....Mr. Whitehead manages to offer informed, concise and jargon-free insights into every kind of jazz and every important innovator, and does so in a reader-friendly style that should appeal to jazz fans and those who simply want to learn a bit more about the music." –
The Washington Times "Whitehead poses many substantive and important questions about the origins of the music, its substance, its major innovators, and its principal ebbs and flows. His answers are mini-essays on these topics, most of which have been carefully pared to a minimum of clear and smart words...The brevity of this book ought not be confused with a lack of substance. Whitehead's tone is conversational, engaging, and direct, and he deserves plenty of credit for an original concept...But perhaps the best thing for me about the book is the ambition of the last chapter, "Jazz After 1980," in which Whitehead sorts out the trends and innovators of the past 30 years in just 27 pages - a remarkable achievement that shows how carefully he listens and how cogently he judges." –The Arts Fuse
"A breezy read in question-and-answer format, and it's as necessary as ever these days, as distant as jazz has become to the general population." –Patrick Jarenwattananon, NPR's "A Blog Supreme"
"With remarkable precision and polish, he traces the lineaments of each genre, discerns the significance of key figures, explains the anatomy of sound, and sketches the important venues - making this a useful reference for a puzzled or curious audience." –
Books and Culture "An admirably concise primer in Q&A format that covers lots of ground without being preachy." –FinancialTimes.com
"Despite its brevity it functions as effectively, in its way, as vaster tomes by the likes of Gary Giddins or Alyn Shipton because Whitehead is a succinct, amusing summarist (part of the gig as longtime National Public Radio critic) and commands a broad appreciation and experience of the music...He's concerned with brass tacks and nails points with precision, deftly handling the jazz education debate or the crux of George Russell's Lydian chromatic concept." –
DownBeat