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gannent's review
1.0
This is a terrible book. It claims to be a history of the trumpet, jazz, and American culture, but it's actually a description of how masculine the trumpet is and the author's adventures with the trumpet. Honestly, the book is sexist. Every chapter the author mentions how the trumpet is a pure form of masculine expression. As a woman, it makes me feel left out, and that if I played the trumpet, it would be lesser than a male performer. Even the little section about the history of female trumpeters is sprinkled with comments like, "Although she is tall, slim, and attractive, Jensen is all business when she plays." (direct quote) Also, "When [she] plays, she devotes her energy to the music and not to making herself an erotic object" Meanwhile, in previous chapters, he praised the raw sexuality of male trumpeters.
The last straw was at the end of the book, when he spends four pages summarizing the book, all about the masculitnity of the trumpet. Only one paragraph mentions women at all, and in it he says, "At this point, it becomes clear why women can be as successful as men when they play the trumpet." Okay, but his reasoning made me furious. "If a woman... rips through a phrase like Armstrong or Gillespie at his most intense, we might say that she is expressing the masculine side of herself." So a woman can't be a good trumpet player if she isn't in some way masculine. Sure.
The book has issues outside of the sexism, though. It's poorly organized, with biographical chapters mixed in with chapters about the history and construction of the trumpet. Also, the author spends many chapters describing his trumpet practices and shopping. That's not what I wanted to read about.
In summary, PLEASE don't buy this book. I've never regretted reading a book until now.
The last straw was at the end of the book, when he spends four pages summarizing the book, all about the masculitnity of the trumpet. Only one paragraph mentions women at all, and in it he says, "At this point, it becomes clear why women can be as successful as men when they play the trumpet." Okay, but his reasoning made me furious. "If a woman... rips through a phrase like Armstrong or Gillespie at his most intense, we might say that she is expressing the masculine side of herself." So a woman can't be a good trumpet player if she isn't in some way masculine. Sure.
The book has issues outside of the sexism, though. It's poorly organized, with biographical chapters mixed in with chapters about the history and construction of the trumpet. Also, the author spends many chapters describing his trumpet practices and shopping. That's not what I wanted to read about.
In summary, PLEASE don't buy this book. I've never regretted reading a book until now.
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