A wide-ranging book on soundtrack cultures from around the globe – presented as a series of different essays on the music by a variety of different academic who specialize in film music! Mark Slobin edited the volume, and contributes a few early essays on American film music – including a look at the cult around Max Steiner – and other essays look at Bollywood soundtracks, Hindi film music, other cinematic sounds in Chinese, Brazilian, Tamil, Indonesian, Egyptian, Mexican, and other cultures. The book is hefty – 383 pages for this softcover edition, with some black and white images – and contributors include Greg Booth, Abdalla Uba Adamu, Joseph Getter, Marilyn Miller, Sue MC Tuohy, Sumarsam, Eric Galm, Martin Stokes, and Brenda Berrian. Book

A beautiful set of poems dedicated to the legacy of bebop genius Charlie Parker – presented in a variety of ways that make the book far more engrossing than you might expect! Some of the poems deal with the bebop scene directly from the artists' perspective, others contemplate the music as a listener – and the book features a large central passage that includes the complete text of a radio play that Yusef Komunyakaa did with saxophonist Sandy Evans for Australian radio! There's also some essays on the Testimony piece – as well as an interview with the poet by Sascha Feinstein – plus a bonus CD of the whole broadcast performance, in this hardcover edition of 140 pages. Book

A loving portrait of key figures in Jamaican music – a book done during the 21st Century, but filled with classic artists from back in the day – dozens of giants pictured in full color images, alongside some words on their art and music, plus standout tracks and details of their best qualities! The book is on an academic press, but it's a great read for anyone – and features a brief introduction by the author, before diving into the dozens of entries – of subjects who include Derrick Harriott, Ras Michael, Mr Fix It, Bobby Aitkin, Deadly Headley, Bob Andy, Cedric Im Brooks, Max Romeo, Ken Parker, Lee Scratch Perry, Boris Gardinier, Gladdy Anderson, Steely & Clive, Sly Dunbar, and many others. The softcover edition is 230 pages, with full color photos throughout, and features helpful indexes on key recordings and the locations and timing of the interviews within. Book

Some of the earliest work ever written by Elmore Leonard – a range of short stories from the 50s, some of which were even created while Leonard was working in the advertising business! The later Leonard style is definitely in effect here, but the stories are also shorter, more focused, and with a very sharp punch – more in line with postwar crime/detective pulp styles, with maybe a dose of Hemmingway – and without all the later twists, turns, and key complications that Leonard often brought to his famous books! The result is some great hard crime writing – with locales that stretch from Detroit jazz clubs to south of the border bullfight rings – all marked by a great sense of dialogue, which really moves the stories along sharply. 330 pages, softcover. Book

An insanely detailed book on the role of drugs in American music – written by a guy who's already written a fair bit about drugs and culture! This time around, Martin Torgoff turns his eye towards the postwar years – looking at the interwoven landscapes of jazz, underground culture, and drugs from the late 40s through the 60s – with chapters that look at both famous figures and lesser-known personas – in a list that includes Billie Holiday, Lester Young, William S Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Charlie Parker, and many more. The book's filled with short chapters that almost each read like a story themselves – never too exploitative, and often never with any sort of judgement at all – just surprising detail about the relation between drugs and performance, writing, or other artistic creation. These short chapters work well to weave together a world behind the scenes – subtle forces that later shaped more famous creations – and the book is a hefty 412 pages, with some black and white images. Book