Pressed for All Time: Producing the Great Jazz Albums from Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday to Miles Davis and Diana Krall

by Michael Jarrett

Overview

In histories of music, producers tend to fall by the wayside—generally unknown and seldom acknowledged. But without them and their contributions to the art form, we'd have little on record of some of the most important music ever created. Discover the stories behind some of jazz's best-selling and most influential albums in this collection of oral histories gathered by music scholar and writer Michael Jarrett. Drawing together interviews with over fifty producers, musicians, engineers, and label executives, Jarrett shines a light on the world of making jazz records by letting his subjects tell their own stories and share their experiences in creating the American jazz canon.

Packed with fascinating stories and fresh perspectives on over 200 albums and artists, including legends such as Louis Armstrong, John Coltrane, and Miles Davis, as well as contemporary artists such as Diana Krall and Norah Jones, Pressed for All Time tells the unknown stories of the men and women who helped to shape the quintessential American sound.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Will prove illuminating for everyone who loves jazz.—Booklist



Serves as a brilliant 'making of' guide to some of the greatest jazz albums.—Sounds of Surprise

Library Journal

10/01/2016
Pennsylvania State English professor and former Pulse! writer Jarrett presents an intimate look at the little-known history of jazz production, from cutting sides in the 1930s, with wax and acetate masters, to the advent of multitrack recordings in the 1960s to present-day digital recording. The author saved material from phone interviews with record producers over 25 years, resulting in 57 different people discussing such details as how artists were discovered, where albums were recorded, why different tracks were added, whether a song was recorded in one take, and where mics were placed. The book is organized by chronological release dates into four broad categories: Cutting Sides 1936–1949, Rolling Tape 1950–1966, Laying Down Tracks 1967–1990, and Recording to Hard Drive 1991-present. VERDICT Though the information is highly anecdotal, and the text a little choppy, Jarrett's volume successfully details the untold narrative of jazz production from the perspective of those with an astounding array of technical skills and artistic background, who coaxed iconic recordings out of the giants of jazz. Jazz fans and record buffs will relish poring over these accounts of how their favorite records were made.—Erin O. Romanyshyn, Frances Morrison Central Lib., Saskatoon, Sask.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781469664170
Publisher:	The University of North Carolina Press
Publication date:	11/01/2020
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

Related Subjects

• Jazz - General & Miscellaneous