If It Swings, It''s Music: The Autobiography of Hawai''i''s Gabe Baltazar Jr.
English
By (author): Gabe Baltazar Jr. Theo Garneau
At a young age Gabe was encouraged by his father, an accomplished musician, to take up the clarinet and saxophone. As a teenager during World War II, Gabe performed with the Royal Hawaiian Band but spent his weekends playing in swing bands. After establishing himself in the West Coast jazz scene, in 1960 he rose to prominence as lead alto saxophonist of the Stan Kenton Orchestra. Following a four-year stint with Kenton, Gabe worked as a valued studio musician, recording with Dizzy Gillespie, Oliver Nelson, and James Moody, among others. In 1969 he returned to Honolulu and went on to become Hawai?is premier jazz artist, a role he admirably fulfilled for over forty years. At 82, Gabe remains active in jazz education and still performs regularly.
Gabes memorable encounters with some of the greatest names in jazz and popular entertainment will delight music fans, while readers of Hawaii and Asian-American life-writing will find in this work a fond record of days past told with humour and heart. See more