“Superficially less ambitious but more satisfying is a Jazz memoir by STEPHEN T. BOTEK, a New York psychiatrist born in 1929, SONG ON MY LIPS: Jazz Greats Were My Mentors (Granville Island Publishing, 2008, 352 pages). In books on Jazz, I take pleasure in first-hand experience, cogently presented. A writer who was there is a rare and delightful personage indeed. I’ve never heard Botek play and so have no knowledge of his improvisatory skills or potential. But what matters is that he is a compassionate and witty close observer with a sharp ear for dialogue and an exceptional memory. (Or, if given the memoirist’s privilege, he has invented certain passages, they don’t intrude on his book.)
His book might have been formulaic: he might have offered the usual sentimental narrative of “The Greatest Generation” with a Jazz scene here and there. But Botek wanted to be a Jazz clarinetist early, and his path was set by the time he heard Buddy DeFranco with the Tommy Dorsey band in 1946. With precision and empathy, he describes his childhood environment in Lansford, Pennsylvania (the Dorsey Brothers’ hometown), his musical and emotional development, being mentored by DeFranco, seeing Bird and Diz, and more. (His friend Charlie gets a generous and impromptu drum lesson from Gene Krupa.) While Botek is studying at Eastman, he talks with Artie Shaw about Bop. Although Botek continues to play and study, the narrative turns from sketches of the Jazz greats while Botek serves in the military. Although the Jazz fancier will miss the first-person anecdotes, readers will have warmed to Botek and follow him into the present. In a back-cover blurb, Phil Woods compares Botek to Huckleberry Finn. Perhaps—there is a good deal of prankish humor in his adventures. But Botek reminds me much more of the young James Joyce’s alter ego, Stephen Dedalus, finding himself as an artist. In some ways, this book is the consistently intriguing autobiography of a developing consciousness, whether the shaping influence is DeFranco or Wilhelm Reich.”
Michael Steinman, “Book Look”, Cadence Magazine
“Song on My Lips is an insightful book written by a man who obviously loves and understands the music of the swing era. Botek was there, so his perspective on the players and the events that took place is accurate and highly perceptive.”
Ross Porter, author of The Essential Jazz Recordings: 101 CDs, president and CEO of JAZZ.FM91 radio, and award-winning broadcaster best known for his seminal CBC Radio series After Hours
“This memoir brims with lively stories of the Kings of Swing and the author’s coming of age.”
Foreword Magazine
“It teems with detail, not least of which is the coming of age in a changing, sometimes chilling time.”
Tom Harrison, The Province
“This is a delightful love story between a boy from Pennsylvania and America’s original art form, jazz. It chronicles his Huckleberryish trip through the world and his encounters with his heroes, jazz musicians like Buddy DeFranco and Gene Krupa. Well-written with pathos and warmth — each paragraph is etched using a pen with a backbeat. Very enjoyable.”
Phil Woods, recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Fellowship
“Botek has written a rich and important book about a well-lived life. His vast recollections are enlightening, sometimes humorous and at other times poignant. I can heartily recommend it to anyone, whether they share our mutual passion for jazz or not.”
Peter J. Levinson, author of Trumpet Blues: The Life of Harry James, September in the Rain: The Life of Nelson Riddle, Livin’ in a Great Big Way: Tommy Dorsey, a Biography, and the recently released Puttin’ on the Ritz: Fred Astaire and the Art of Panache
