PEC Jazz Festival Reading List

For those 51 weeks a year when the PEC Jazz Festival is on hiatus, here is a collection of literature where jazz is a key element in the story. Have a suggestion? Send it to us.

• Carpenter, J.D., (2021). All Us Cats on Stage: Jazz Poems. "Who needs jazz? Who needs poetry? Who needs poetry about jazz? It’s safe to say that J.D. Carpenter thinks we could all use a bit of both. And, by the end of this slender, thoughtful volume, one cannot help but agree with him." - Picton Gazette
• Doyle, Roddy, (2004). Oh, Play That Thing. Fictional account of an immigrant Irishman’s relationship with Louis Armstrong. "... a novel by Irish writer Roddy Doyle. It is Vol. 2 of The Last Roundup series, and follows on from Vol. 1, A Star Called Henry." - Wikipedia
• Edugyan, Esi, (2011). Half Blood Blues. "... a fiction novel by Canadian writer Esi Edugyan, and first published in June 2011 by Serpent’s Tail. The book's dual narrative centers around Sidney "Sid" Griffiths, a journeyman jazz bassist." - Wikipedia
• Kerouac, Jack (1957). On The Road. "... inspired by his travels across the United States. It is widely regarded as a defining work of the postwar Beat Generation, following a group of friends living for the moment against a backdrop of jazz, poetry, and rebellion." - Wikipedia
• Ondaatje, Michael (1976). Coming Through Slaughter. ".. It was the winner of the 1976 Books in Canada First Novel Award. The novel is a fictionalized version of the life of the New Orleans jazz pioneer Buddy Bolden and is partly set in Slaughter, Louisiana." - Wikipedia​

Have a recommendation for this list? Send it to [email protected].