Roy Lichtenstein, THE MELODY HAUNTS MY REVERIE, 1965, lithograph on paper, 24 x 29 3/4 inches, Collection Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase College, State University of New York, gift of Stephen Singer / Photo: Jim Frank
I talked to a number of people in the process of researching my book FINDING BIX: THE LIFE AND AFTERLIFE OF A JAZZ LEGEND, and I found that these interviews were by far the best part of the whole process.
Whether it was flying to New York to meet Terry Teachout or nervously calling Amiri Baraka, bird-watching with Geoff Muldaur, or sitting and drinking gin with Fred Woodard, these conversations challenged my thinking about Bix, humbled me (for how can you ever feel like you know enough?), and sent me flying off freshly inspired and writing in new, unexpected directions. And while I tried to capture the flavor of these encounters in the book, I thought it worth the effort to provide the full transcripts, and audio when available, here.
This isn't everyone I talked to, but it provides the lion's share of the major interviews in the book.