New book from Mark Miller

The release of a new book by Mark Miller is always cause for celebration. Miller was for many years the jazz critic of Canada's national newspaper, The Globe and Mail, and the author of seven previous books of Canadian jazz history and biography. This time out, Miller has moved father afield, taking on the life and music of singer, trumpeter, and dancer Valaida Snow. Born in 1904 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, her renown is a mixture of fact and fiction, much of it of her own invention. Miller again serves the cause of cultural history be searching past the excess of misinformation to tell a story as irresistible as the legend. "Child star, jazz pioneer and world traveller. Legend and myth. If Valaida Snow’s life wasn’t already sensational enough, she sensationalized it further, freely evading and embellishing the truth of her triumphs, trials, and tribulations. But even after her life has been measured against the historical record, it remains a grand and compelling tale, and Valaida herself a grand and compelling figure." For more information and to order the book visit The Mercury Press. Post comments in the Jazz Forum