From Birdland to Broadway: Scenes from a Jazz Life

In the course of his long career as a bassist, Bill Crow has rubbed elbows with such luminaries as Gerry Mulligan, Marian McPartland, Stan Getz, and Duke Ellington (who coached him through a one-nighter by pointing to the appropriate notes on his keyboard a half-beat before they were played by the orchestra). Still, Crow's vantage point is largely that of a supporting player, bouncing from gig to gig and trimming his style to fit the circumstances. Luckily for us, he's written it all down in From Birdland to Broadway, which is both a spirited account of the freelancer's hand-to-mouth existence and a portrait gallery of Crow's exalted employers. The Seattle native arrived in Manhattan in 1950 with a valve trombone, which he later exchanged for a string bass. He began his jazz education at Birdland--then a kind of world headquarters for bop and progressive swing masters--and went on to play in trios, quartets, big bands, and Broadway pit orchestras (including an eight-year run with 42nd Street). Crow's account of this musical odyssey is a delight: modest, specific, and packed with low-key comedy.