This work collects 32 essays by rock journalist Santoro, who writes regular columns for the New York Daily News and the Nation. These vignettes, appearing previously in such magazines as the Nation, the Village Voice, the Atlantic Monthly, and Fi, comment on a wide range of musical styles, including jazz, pop, Cuban, and Hawaiian music. Dealing with jazz artists Ray Drummond and Tom Harrell, African musicians Manu Dibango and Thomas Mafumo, and the Brazilian Gilberto Gil, the best essays in this volume weave fascinating musical biographies from interviews Santoro conducted during the last decade. Unfortunately, most of these accounts simply restate well-known facts about such artists as Jimi Hendrix, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, and Charles Mingus. Though demonstrating Santoro's undeniable understanding of a broad spectrum of music, his work generally fails to deliver much material worthy of reprinting. Only for comprehensive music collections.?David P. Szatmary, Univ. of Washington, Seattle
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