In addition to analyzing his music, his musical partnerships, and his career, Lees, a personal friend of the pianist, allows readers a glimpse into Peterson the man--his upbringing, his relationships, his stances against racism. Lees’ attention to detail is enlivened by amusing anecdotes and occasional historical asides such as his informative segment on the piano as a unique instrument and its place in the jazz hierarchy.

Gene Lees is a jazz journalist, the biographer of Lerner and Loewe, and the author of Meet Me at Jim & Andy’s; Friends Along the Way: A Journey Through Jazz; Cats of Any Color: Jazz, Black and White; Arranging the Score: Portraits of the Great Arrangers; Leader of the Band: The Life of Woody Herman; Johnny: The Life of John Herndon Mercer; Fever: The Life and Music of Miss Peggy Lee; Singers and the Song, and Singers and the Song II. Lees is also a three-time winner of the ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award, a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Jazz Journalists Association, a lyricist for such songs as Jobim’s “Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars,” and the writer and publisher since 1981 of Jazzletter.