Tom Smith

The Stealth Jazz Abbreviated Guide to Media Tom Smith

In contemporary times, jazz appreciation boils down to a conflict between informed music lovers (dubbed snobs) and 'reachers, ' who deconstruct music while feigning altruism. This third and final book in the 'Stealth Jazz' trilogy is neither history or critique (per se), but a celebration of the open mindedness that once made jazz popular. Like its predecessors, 'The Stealth Jazz Abbreviated Guide to Media' is written in the non-repentant style that labeled its author "The Hunter S. Thompson of Jazz Criticism." Drawing on more than four decades as a world class musician/ educator/ historian, Smith lures readers into accepting his snobbery, while deriding those purposefully ignorant. *** Tom Smith's snobbery is unparalleled. The 'Down Beat' Hall of Fame inductee didn't buy a non-jazz or classical album until he was twenty-four, and rescinded his first car purchase when the dealer mocked Coltrane. Since then, his views have marginally softened, but are still pretty rough.