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Song for My Fathers: A New Orleans Story in Black and White

by Tom Sancton

Song for My Fathers: A New Orleans Story in Black and White Cover

 

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Visit the book's website at www.otherpress.com/songformyfathers.

Tulane Reading Project 2006

Former Time Paris Bureau Chief and bestselling author Tom Sancton returns to the New Orleans of his youth and the music that shaped and guided his life.

Song for my Fathers is the story of a young white boy driven by a consuming passion to learn the music and ways of a group of aging black jazzmen in the twilight years of the segregation era. Contemporaries of Louis Armstrong, most of them had played in local obscurity until Preservation Hall launched a nationwide revival of interest in traditional jazz. They called themselves “the mens.” And they welcomed the young apprentice into their ranks.

The boy was introduced into this remarkable fellowship by his father, an eccentric Southern liberal and failed novelist whose powerful articles on race had made him one of the most effective polemicists of the early Civil Rights movement. Nurtured on his father’s belief in racial equality, the aspiring clarinetist embraced the old musicians with a boundless love and admiration. In a sense, they became his spiritual fathers and role models. Meanwhile his real father, who had first led the boy to the “mens” and shared his reverence for them, later recoiled in horror at the idea that his son might lose his way in the world of late-night jazz joints, French Quarter bar rooms, and a precarious life on the margins of society. The tension between the father’s determination to control the boy’s destiny and his son’s abiding passion for the music is a major theme of the book.

The narrative unfolds against the vivid backdrop of New Orleans in the 1950s and ‘60s. But that magical town is more than decor; it is perhaps the central player, for this story could not have taken place in any other city in the world. Written several years before Katrina crashed into New Orleans and changed its face forever, Song for My Fathers seems all the more moving in the wake of that cataclysm.

Review:

"In this beguiling coming-of-age memoir, a former Time Paris bureau chief takes a heartfelt look at his unusual Crescent City childhood during the 1950s and '60s. At 13, the author, son of a liberal white journalist-turned-novelist and a Mississippi debutante, begins clarinet lessons, learning to play traditional New Orleans jazz from veteran black musicians who were the heart of Preservation Hall in the famous French Quarter and the soul of the local black community. Sancton loves the music, but at the same time lives the life of a middle-class white teen, expected to share the prejudices and enthusiasms of his peers. Caught between disparate social worlds and racial realities, he, '[l]ike Clark Kent..., had a double identity.' This enduring portrait of a particular side of New Orleans — which Sancton (Death of a Princess) notes 'had mostly faded into history long before Katrina struck' — vividly captures the author's complicated relationships with his father, his hometown and the wonderful characters drawn to it. Sketches pay homage to clarinetist George Lewis, banjoist Creole George Guesnon and others in prose that can emotionally mimic the sound of a horn and summon the taste of red beans and rice. Photos. Author tour. (June) Look for an upcoming Q&A with Tom Sancton. — Ed." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

About the Author

Tom Sancton

Tom Sancton makes his debut as a writer of political thrillers with The Armageddon Project. For 22 years he worked at Time magazine, most recently as the Paris Bureau Chief. He coauthored the 1998 international bestseller Death of a Princess: The Investigation, which examined the circumstances surrounding Princess Diana’s death. His acclaimed memoir, Song for My Fathers (Other Press, 2006), recounts his early life among legendary jazz men in his native New Orleans. He currently lives in Paris.

Product Details

ISBN:
9781590512432
Author:
Sancton, Tom
Publisher:
Other Press (NY)
Author:
Sancton, Tommy
Subject:
General
Subject:
Jazz
Subject:
Jazz musicians
Subject:
Regional Subjects - South
Subject:
Personal Memoirs
Subject:
Jazz musicians -- United States.
Subject:
Jazz -- Louisiana -- New Orleans.
Subject:
Biography - General
Publication Date:
20060631
Binding:
HARDCOVER
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Y
Pages:
304
Dimensions:
9.25 x 6.25 x 1.2 in 1.4 lb

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Song for My Fathers: A New Orleans Story in Black and White Used Hardcover
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Product details 304 pages Other Press - English 9781590512432 Reviews:
"Publishers Weekly Review" by , "In this beguiling coming-of-age memoir, a former Time Paris bureau chief takes a heartfelt look at his unusual Crescent City childhood during the 1950s and '60s. At 13, the author, son of a liberal white journalist-turned-novelist and a Mississippi debutante, begins clarinet lessons, learning to play traditional New Orleans jazz from veteran black musicians who were the heart of Preservation Hall in the famous French Quarter and the soul of the local black community. Sancton loves the music, but at the same time lives the life of a middle-class white teen, expected to share the prejudices and enthusiasms of his peers. Caught between disparate social worlds and racial realities, he, '[l]ike Clark Kent..., had a double identity.' This enduring portrait of a particular side of New Orleans — which Sancton (Death of a Princess) notes 'had mostly faded into history long before Katrina struck' — vividly captures the author's complicated relationships with his father, his hometown and the wonderful characters drawn to it. Sketches pay homage to clarinetist George Lewis, banjoist Creole George Guesnon and others in prose that can emotionally mimic the sound of a horn and summon the taste of red beans and rice. Photos. Author tour. (June) Look for an upcoming Q&A with Tom Sancton. — Ed." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)
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