The author himself best describes his book in the introduction. “The work gathered here includes essays, reviews, profiles, polemics: all are attempts to convey my admiration for the faces in this peculiarly heterodox crowd.” The four sections are “Show People,” “Divas,” “Players,” and “Writers.” In the article on Irving Berlin the songwriter himself describes his approach to songwriting, and the interview with Clint Eastwood includes Giddins’ examination of the film Bird. The divas include Billie, Ella, Sarah, Miss D. and Kay Starr. In addition to famous players such as Armstrong, Goodman, and Gillespie (with an analysis of two of his solos), Giddins includes essays on Frank Morgan, Chick Webb, and expat jazz/classical harmonica player Larry Adler. The writers range from the creators of hard-boiled detective fiction to novelist Vladimir Nabokov, and the chapter ends with an analysis of three noted jazz writers. As usual, Giddins is both entertaining and provocative.

Gary Giddins is a columnist for The Village Voice, artistic director of the American Jazz Orchestra, and contributor to Entertainment Weekly. His books include a biography of Bing Crosby, Rhythm-a-ning, Riding on a Blue Note, Celebrating Bird, Satchmo, Visions of Jazz: The First Century, and Weatherbird: Jazz at the Dawn of Its Second Century. His work has garnered numerous prizes including four ASCAP-Deems Taylor Awards for music criticism, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Peabody Broadcasting Award, and an American Book Award.