The information contained in Phoenetic Readings of Songs and Arias is an absolutely necessary tool for every student of classical vocal repertoire. Not only do the authors understand what the novice singer needs, in terms of word order and pronounciation, but the information is also a very handy reference for the advanced singer and teacher. The best thing about this volume is that translations of the original word order of the original language is given, so that the student can see "how the language works" in its own word order. A great book!.

This book is essentially everything you wanted to know about the career, family and sex life of Ralph Berton -- oh, and then there's that guy Beiderbecke who keeps hanging around him.

Actually, it's not a bad evocation of a frantic era and how it ended. Berton paints some great word pictures of what it must have been like to travel with the Wolverines and party with a still young-and-healthy Bix. The skeptical or more serious reader, however, may speculate on exactly where the facts end and the fiction begins.

For a more even-handed bio, a better bet is Sudhalter/Evans' BIX: MAN AND LEGEND, which treats its subject with respect without turning into a dry listing of facts and dates.

Still, REMEMBERING BIX is a fun read for anyone in love with Bix, his music, and his times.

i haven't read this in a while. i came across it in a little bookstore in san francisco, bought it and didn't put it down for a week. it is such an unbelievably rich experience. it does bear mentioning that the book doesn't wholly focus on bix. you end up not really caring. the portions dealing with bix are very profound and highly memorable.
ralph berton is a very sensitive writer. his ability to draw in the reader is formidable.
i loaned my copy to my mom, so i came to amazon to buy another copy.

I, too, read it a long time ago. I would have been crazy about this book even if I'd never heard of Bix. Every paragraph is a gem. Berton bubbles over with cleverness. I use expressions & phrases that I picked up from the book, every day! And like another reviewer, I would love to know what happened to Ralph Berton.