Sideman : The Long Gig of W. O. Smith

From dust jacket notes: "In this wry, moving memoir completed shortly before his death, one of jazz's great sidemen, W.O. Smith, explores the terrain of modern jazz music through the eyes of one who rubbed shoulders with the legends. WRiting about the black intelligentsia of the 1930s and 40s, particularly in Philadelphia and New York City, as well as life on the road during the big band era, this virtuoso of the string bass discusses the influence of such jazz greats as DUke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Frankie Fairfax, Coleman Hawkins, Fats Waller, Nat 'King' Cole, and Bessie Smith...."