Walter van de Leur is Professor of Jazz and Improvised Music in the Department of Musicology at the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on behalf of the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, where he is a Research Coordinator and docent.
“In contrasting the hugely different reactions in Europe and America to both Baker's music and his death, the author lays bare the crudity of jazz politics, while championing the historical value of local histories for the greater nuance they can provide.” —Ian Patterson, All About Jazz