Glorious Days and Nights is a personal account of the fifty-year career of jazz photographer Herb Snitzer; with a special focus on his years in New York City from 1957 to 1964. A photojournalist for Life; Look; and Fortune; Snitzer was the photo editor and later associate editor of the influential jazz magazine Metronome. During the 1960s; politics; race; and social strife and unrest swirled in Snitzers life as a working artist. But throughout the bus boycotts; demonstrations; civil and racial unrest; what remained constant for him was jazz.Snitzer recalls what it was like to go on the road with these musicians. His reflections run the gamut from serious meditations on his development as a young photographer working with musicians already of great stature to more conversational recollections of casual moments spent having fun with the jazz artists many of whom became close friends.This book includes Snitzers very best jazz photographs. He reveals the essences of the artists; their struggles; joys; and pains. A number of Snitzers jazz images have become iconic; including Louis Armstrong with the Star of David; Lester Young at The Five Spot Cafeacute; in New York City; John Coltrane reflected in a mirror; Thelonious Monk with piano keys reflected in his sunglasses; and Miles Davis at Newport. With eighty-five black and white images of jazz giants; Glorious Days and Nights provides a long-awaited testimony to the friendships and artistry that Snitzer developed over his remarkable career.
#2516593 in eBooks 2011-09-27 2011-09-27File Name: B00681B1VC
Review
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful. 50/50By Nik RanieriI love TV themes. So imagine my joy when I heard that a book devoted to just TV theme songs had been released. Unfortunately. this book was not the comprehensive guide I had hoped for. First of all. I applaud Mr. Robinson for actually producing a book on a subject that is slowly facing extinction and. to its credit. there are some facts that I was unaware of and found very interesting but in lieu of many of the mistakes in the book. Im not sure how credible those facts are. A couple of glaring errors that show up are:-In the introduction. the author states. "...Rhoda had an instrumental theme song by Henrietta and Lorenzo Music...". but in the actual listing. it credits the theme (rightfully) to Billy Goldenberg.-In the listing for Green Acres (1965). the author states. "Green Acres was the first TV sitcom to have its stars sing its theme song". In a previous listing for the sitcom. The Bing Crosby Show (1964). he states that Bing Crosby performed the theme - one year before Green Acres.Now. I understand that researching this topic can lead to frustration because records were poorly kept or just dont exist anymore but some of the information is not that hard to find and. in some cases. available on the net from multiple sources.-Good Morning. America had more than one theme. The first one that was used for 12 years was composed by the late Marvin Hamlisch.-Love American Styles first season theme was performed by the Cowsills and the second season was performed by the Charles Fox Singers.-Starsky and Hutch had 3 different themes! First season by Lalo Schifrin. second season by Tom Scott ("Gotcha" - the one most associated with the show). third season by Mark Snow and fourth season back to Tom Scotts "Gotcha"People may think Im nitpicking but if youre going to write a book on a subject. you should be thorough. right?Not all TV series are represented here. As he states in his introduction. "For the sake of the books length and content. that was impossible....". That is an understandable concession. still. being a reference book on TV themes. it curious that the author spends more ink on the series descriptions than on the music. In some cases. relegating the music to side note status with phrases like "this jaunty little ditty was written by...". Maybe more shows could have been added had he reduced. or completely done away with. these descriptions. After all. that info is widely available in books such as "The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows".In some descriptions. the author states who wrote the theme but completely ignores the performer(s):-The Bob Newhart Show theme was written by Henrietta and Lorenzo Music but was performed by uncredited co-composer Patrick Williams.-Alfred Hitchcock Presents/Hour was written by Charles Gounod but was performed by such notables as Bernard Herrmann. Lyn Murray Stanley Wilson.-Archie Bunkers Place. performed by Ray Conniff (who recorded the version on one of his albums).-Bewitched. performed by Warren Barker for the entire run of the show.-Car 54. where are you?. performed by John Strauss who. incidentally. wrote the music (Nat Hiken. who the author credits as writing the theme. penned the lyrics only).Speaking of lyrics. in the listing for That Girl. the theme is said to be composed by Hagen and Denoff. This is true. but it would have been interesting to note that Earle Hagen wrote the theme initially and Sam Denoff added the lyrics when the show entered its fifth season.*Also. speaking of performers. two obscure facts that are worth mentioning:-The Andy Griffith Show. composer Earle Hagen was the whistler on the theme.-The Addams Family. was not performed by studio musicians but by the composer Vic Mizzy (vocals were doubled up) due to budget concerns. Ted Cassidys vocals were added after.In a lot of the listings the author lists the different versions of the shows theme (as in The Brady Bunch. Gilligans Island. etc.) but sometimes the author only refers to one of the themes that were written for a show which is very inconsistent. Here are some omissions that should have been included:-Julia. 3rd season theme by Jeff Alexander (lyrics were written but only an instrumental was used)-Land Of The Giants. 2 different themes by John Williams-The Little People. vocal theme ("A Little Love"(?) by Jerry Fielding. The Brian Keith Show. instrumental theme by Artie Butler.-The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobos 2nd season (renamed Lobo) used the song "Georgia on my Mind" performed by Robert Jason.-The Partridge Family. one song but 1st season "When Were Singin had lyrics by Diane Hildebrand and the 2nd to 4th seasons "Come on get Happy" had lyrics by Danny Janssen. (oh. and "sung by the cast"? Only David Cassidy sang on the theme. The same goes for the Monkees theme - only Micky Dolenz sang on that opening).-Seinfeld. 1st theme by Jep Epstein.-Thats My Mama had a 2nd season theme that was different and was a vocal theme.-Wonder Womans 2nd and 3rd season theme was mostly instrumental. only including the words "Wonder Woman" and none of the other lyrics.-The Phil Donahue Show. had at least 3 themes. the original from the 70s. Mike Posts "Silver Fox" in the 80s and Don Gradys "The Human Voice" in the 90s-Baretta. 1st season was an instrumental version of the theme.Some statements are just wrong.-The Green Hornet TV theme is not "Flight of the Bumblebee" (that was used for the radio program). The theme for the show was an original composition by Billy May and was merely inspired by that tune.-The Harlem Globetrotters Saturday morning cartoon show theme was written by Jeff Barry not Ted Nichols.No reference book is perfect and my goal is not to suck all the fun out of the subject but I just felt that some of these problems should be brought up if this book is claiming to be an encyclopedia. Im giving it 3 stars because this book is still valid as a source of information but may need to be taken with a grain of salt.For more information on this subject. I recommend some of these other books as well (if you can find them):TVs Biggest Hits by Jon BurlingameTelevision Theme Recordings by Steve GelfandTV Theme Soundtrack Directory by Craig W. Pattillo5 of 6 people found the following review helpful. What a treat!By T. HischakJust paging through this book brings on a flood of memories! How those insistent melodies and lyrics come back to one. even if it has been decades since you last heard them.When you stop browsing and start reading carefully. one discovers all sorts of facts. trivia and details about the hundreds of TV theme songs described here. I even found reading about the songs from the shows I didnt know to be interesting. And the list of songwriters is also revealing as you see the many shows written by particular composers and lyricists.No matter what your age or television experience. there is plenty here to intrigue you. Highly recommended for reference and popular reading.Warning: dozens of tunes will be swimming in your head after viewing any portion of this book!3 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Nostalgia at its best!By Danyelle BarrettAs a college student. friends and I used to perform tv theme songs just for fun. When I read this spectacular resource. I am immediately transported back to that time and place. Who doesnt remember the Mary Tyler Moore theme song? Or the Brady kids singing. "Heres a story of a lovely lady...."?I also like all of the background information provided! Mr. Robinson has certainly done his research. Its like youre reading about old friends! I highly recommend The Encyclopedia of Television Theme Songs to anyone who grew up in the sixties. seventies and eighties!
