Tom Nolan (1)

Magnificent biography of the world's greatest clarinetist, who quit at his peak at age 44 in 1954--probably never expecting he'd live another 50 years! This book does a great job of highlighting the peaks in Shaw's performances over the years, and all these performances are easily available online, so please check them out. It is also generous in giving credit to Shaw's many bandmembers over the years and in portraying each of his eight (!!!) wives, with the exception of Kathleen Winsor, sympathetically. Shaw himself is an enigma--an egomaniac who was nevertheless unsatisfied with his tremendous success. There are lots of deep psychological quotes here from Shaw about himself and from others about him--Shaw was in analysis for a long time--but we are left with sadness, wishing he could have been happier and treated others better. Perhaps if he had succeeded as a novelist? No, we know better. Let's just be thankful he left us the treasures he did. Sort of like Beethoven, when you hear the music, you just have to accept the person.… (more)

I was never much of a fan of Artie Shaw - preferring instead Glenn Miller, Harry James, and Tommy Dorsey. It appears that Shaw hated Glenn Miller and didn't have much to say either way about James and Dorsey. However, I also heard a talk from Evelyn Keyes about how difficult he was to live with. This book certainly details this. It portrays a perfectionist who was never satisfied with himself or with those around him. However, since he could not accept these flaws in either himself or others, he seemed like a really cranky person. The book itself is well written - numerous interviews with Shaw himself as well as others with those who lived or worked with him. Because Shaw was so full of himself, it is hard to believe anything he has to say, especially about himself and his place in music. The other interviews attempted to provide a balance but there should have been more of them. It would also have been interesting to know what folks like Michael Feinstein or Wynton Marsalis think of where Shaw fits in music history. However, due to reading this book, I have purchased a cd of some of Shaw's recordings as, after reading about them, I want to hear the music. Additionally, I would have liked to have examined more as to why Shaw thought being a writer was more worthwhile than being a musician - for myself, I would think either would be noteworthy. I do think the book could have used more photos and could have provided a discography.… (more)