Leslie Gourse
Roberta Leslie Gourse (born January 1, 1939 in Fall River , Massachusetts , † December 23, 2004 in New York ) was an American journalist and jazz writer.
Gourse lived as a freelance writer in New York, where she graduated from Columbia University with a degree in creative writing in 1960 , and wrote for Downbeat , JazzTimes , Cosmopolitan , The Washington Post , The New York Times and Village Voice (besides jazz also about social trends, Paris, Indians, etc.). She has authored over 30 books, primarily on jazz, but also travel guides for New York, biographies of Jim Henson and Gloria Estefan .
As a jazz writer, she wrote the biographies of Nat King Cole , Art Blakey , Wynton Marsalis , Thelonious Monk (voted one of the two best jazz books of the year by Jazztimes in 1998), Joe Williams , Billie Holiday , Sarah Vaughan , Ella Fitzgerald , Mahalia Jackson , books for children and young people about jazz and one of the basic works about female instrumentalists in jazz.
Her first book in 1961 was a novel With Gall and Honey: The Love Story of an American Girl in Israel ( Avon Books ).
In 1991 she received the Deems Taylor Award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) for a series of articles about women jazz musicians in jazz times. She also received the Columbia Doubleday Award for her novel With Gall and Honey (which also received a Book of the Month Club recommendation).
Fonts
- The Best Guided Walking Tours to New York City , 1989,
- Student Guide to New York , Hippocrene Books 1984
- Pocahontas: Young Peacemaker , 1996 (a children's book)
- Gloria Estefan: Pop Sensation , 1999
- Native American Courtship and Marriage
- Jim Henson: Young Puppeteer , 2000
About jazz:
- Madame Jazz: Contemporary Women Instrumentalists , Oxford University Press, 1995
- Louis´ Children - American Jazz Singers , 1984, revised edition, Coopers Square Press 2001, ISBN 0-8154-1114-6
- Straight no chaser: the life and genius of Thelonious Monk , Schirmer Books, 1998
- Wynton Marsalis: Skain's Domain , 2000
- Sassy - The Life of Sarah Vaughan , Scribners 1992, Da Capo 1994
- Carmen McRae - Miss Jazz , 2001
- Dizzy Gillespie and the Birth of Bebop , 1995
- Art Blakey - Jazz Messenger , 2001
- Aretha Franklin - Lady Soul
- Unforgettable - Life and Mystique of Nat King Cole , Cooper Square Press 2000
- Everyday: The Story of Joe Williams 1985
- Billie Holiday: The Tragedy and Triumph of Lady Day , Franklin Watts, 1995
- Publisher: The Billie Holiday Companion , Schirmer Books 1997
- Lady Be Good , Omnibus Press 1995 (Ella Fitzgerald)
- Mahalia Jackson: Queen of Gospel Songs , 1996
- The Golden Age of Jazz in Paris and other stories about Jazz , Xlibris Corporation 2001
Jazz books for children and teenagers:
- Sophisticated Ladies - the great woman of Jazz , Dutton Juvenile 2007
- Striders of Bebop and Beyond- the art of Jazz Piano , Childrens Press 1997
- Blowing on the Changes - the art of jazz horn players , Franklin Watts 1998
- Deep Down in Music: The Art of the Great Jazz Bassists , Childrens Press 1998 (preface Ron Carter )
- Fancy Fretwork- the great jazz guitarists
- Swingers and Crooners- the art of jazz singing 1997
- Time Keepers - the great jazz drummers 2000
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Gourse, Leslie |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Gourse, Roberta Leslie (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American jazz writer and journalist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 1, 1939 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Fall River , Massachusetts , USA |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 23, 2004 |
| Place of death | New York , USA |