From Birdland to Broadway: Scenes from a Jazz Life

Bassist Crow follows up Jazz Anecdotes , his breezy collection of tales about colleagues he encountered in his 40-year career as a performer, with this spirited and affectionate memoir. A native of Seattle, Crow was a valve trombonist when he came to New York City in 1950 as a jazz-mad 22-year-old; he switched to bass for a gig in the Adirondacks, a job so hastily arranged that he had to hitchhike there with an equally penniless friend whose knowledge of Greek won the sympathy of Greek cooks at eateries en route. With similar color Crow recounts his ``scuffling'' from bar to union hall, from one apartment (and roommate) to the next in an attempt to make ends meet. As his career picked up, he played with everyone from Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman and Dinah Washington to Simon and Garfunkel. Crow's enthusiastic reminiscences, relayed with a musician's sure pacing, vivify an era. (Oct.)