Soul Serenade Volume 17

"""As Curtis was the outstanding studio saxophonist of the late 1950s/1960s in rock & roll, R & B, and soul based in New York, Soul Serenade is of great significance, especially with many impressive interviewees, most of whom are no longer alive, and very good background research.""--John Broven, author of Rhythm and Blues in New Orleans and editor of New York City Blues ""Soul Serenade is an engrossing read and should be of great interest to all fans of American vernacular music and in particular to fans of R & B, soul, and rock, from casual to rabid. Hoover appears to have talked to all the key figures in King Curtis's personal and professional lives, creating a well-rounded portrait of the man and the musician. He also does a good job of putting King Curtis in the context of his times and he gives the narrative a strong momentum, signaling along the way the presence of the traits that led to King Curtis's tragic early death.""--Nick Cristiano, music critic for the Philadelphia Enquirer ""With a magnetic personality and unparalleled talent for jazz, soul, rhythm & blues, pop, and rock 'n' roll, sax player and producer King Curtis worked with and influenced a who's who of the music world from the 1950s to the '70s, with the apex of his career as the musical director and band leader for Aretha Franklin. In his thoroughly engaging Soul Serenade, Tim Hoover brings the story of King Curtis to life, from his beginnings in Texas--where he went to high school with Ornette Coleman--to his work with the likes of Buddy Holly, Sam Cooke, John Lennon, Donny Hathaway, and Duane Allman, and with previously unrevealed details of his shocking murder in New York City in 1971. Hoover has spent twenty years on his book on the sax great--and the results are worth the wait. With meticulous research, he hits the right notes in showing how Curtis was larger than life.""--Billy Heller, music and pop culture journalist"