Taschen's Charlie Haden Snafu

In addition to the thousands of records and CDs in my father’s collection, there are also hundreds of books. Many of them are music related, and mention Charlie, or include photos of him. Others include vintage mystery paperbacks, oversized art hardcovers, and biographies, just to name a few.

The jazz book I’m reading now doesn’t come from my father’s collection. It was a gift from a friend a few years back that I’m finally getting around to. The title’s Jazzlife, A Journey For Jazz Across America In 1960 by Joachim E. Berendt with photography by William Claxton. Originally published in Germany in 1961, Taschen released a multi-lingual edition in 2005, and several since. Mine was produced in 2013.

Jazzlife’s known for the amazing photography of William Claxton, but music journalist Berendt’s text is equally great. It functions as an introductory yet detailed and very well-written accounting of U.S. jazz from its beginnings through 1960. I can’t recommend this book enough, just for the information alone.

I checked the index to see if Charlie was included in the text or photos. His name didn’t show up.