ROY ELDRIDGE: Little Jazz Giant

Sixty years ago, Roy Eldridge possessed one of the hottest chops in jazz. A fast and daring soloist, his trademark move was flitting all over the horn's upper register like an acrobat. And though he played on some key swing records—such as "After You've Gone" and "Rockin' Chair," both with Gene Krupa's Orchestra—his true forte was playing live. In this first biography of "Little Jazz" Eldridge, Chilton reminds readers that the risk-taking Eldridge inspired a young Dizzy Gillespie to create the revolutionary style called bop. Yet Eldridge never dug the modern sound, and from the late 1940s until his death in 1985 his playing was increasingly old hat. Unfortunately, Chilton's narrative isn't the classic tale of a self-made man going from obscurity to fame and, painfully, back to obscurity. Instead, it's a dull run through Eldridge's many performances and recordings, from his start with traveling carnival and circus bands to his last days at Ryan's Club in New York. Chilton does find some great quotes underscoring Eldridge's skill: e.g., Louis Armstrong: "And there's no use wondering how high Roy can go on his trumpet, because he can go higher than that." But the author ignores Eldridge's private personae, thus never really bringing him to life. On his childhood, Chilton writes, "There was no question of a cruel stepmother making Roy's life a misery," and leaves it at that. Late in the book readers learn that Eldridge's wife and daughter were the "central figures" of his life, yet Chilton only introduces them a few times in passing. (June)