• Bechet, Sidney, Treat it Gentle: An autobiography 
• Giddins, Gary, Satchmo: The Genius of Louis Armstrong
• Torff, Brian, In Love With Voices: A Jazz Memoir
• Gillespie, Dizzy, To Be Or Not to Bop
• Hasse, John Edward, Beyond Category: The Life And Genius Of Duke Ellington
• Reisner, Robert, Bird: The Legend of Charlie Parker 
• Ratliff, Ben, Coltrane: the Story of a Sound
• Davis, Miles, Troupe, Quincy, The Autobiography
• Clarke, Donald, Billie Holiday: Wishing on the Moon

Jazz Memoire Book List and Paper Assignment

Assignment: Write an 8-10 page research paper analyzing your chosen book
DO NOT RETELL THE STORY!!

Guidelines:

1. Read the book! Take notes on key information that you can use to expand upon. Concentrate on the main characters and their connections to a life in jazz. In particular, be sure to include musical, social, racial, socio-economic and gender issues that are raised in the text.

2. Paper structure:

• Introductory paragraph: briefly describe the book.
• Body: Develop your paper by using examples from the text. Then, link the period of the main character's life to your research on that specific era of jazz. How does the context of that era connect to the life and career of the book's subject? Provide outside research on the genre and time period of the artist - such as Dixieland, Swing, Bop, Cool, Fusion, etc. 
• Conclusion: Conclude with what you learned from the book and what it can teach us about American culture. 

3. Proofread your work - ALWAYS - Never hand in a rough draft.

4. Cite your references, illuminate your points, use at least 3 outside sources for research.

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