Playing the Changes: Milt Hinton’s Life in Stories and Photographs
Milt Hinton, with David Berger and Holly Maxson, Vanderbilt, 384 pp., 260 photos, $75
Milt Hinton spanned much jazz history. He also changed it: The master of the “walking” bass performed with Cab Calloway and Louis Armstrong, and helped break the studio-musician color line. And he took his camera everywhere to catch his fellow musicians in the act. His shrewd, congenial candids from the road, onstage and the studio offer insider insights, and his anecdote-rich bio make this lush coffee-table book revealing and rewarding.
Originally published in the October 2008 issue of American History. To subscribe, click here.