Hotter Than That

“The trumpet is the quintessentially all-American musical instrument—the one whose clarion tones proclaim our national character—and Krin Gabbard's Hotter Than That, an engagingly written, admirably concise study of its place in American popular culture, goes a long way toward explaining why the trumpet and its best-known players have set down such deep roots in our collective imagination."—Terry Teachout

 

“Krin Gabbard's thoroughly absorbing and original account of the trumpet in jazz and American life—written with a disarmingly anecdotal ease that should be the envy of any writer—argues that this ancient brass instrument didn't achieve its true potential until it was taken up by African American musicians in the early years of the twentieth century. His argument is as entertaining as it is unassailable. I learned something from every page.”—Gary Giddins

“What makes Hotter than That such an enjoyable read is that the author does many things very well in a comparatively short space. Hotter than That is a concise contemplation of the jazz trumpet from every angle: technological, cultural, historical, musical, artistic—and even psychological.  For the first time we have a highly-readable survey of the horn by an author who is both a superior researcher and a player himself, who knows the trumpet from the inside out.  Along the way he finds the time to profile the three most notable exponents of the jazz trumpet - Buddy Bolden, Louis Armstrong, and Miles Davis - at length, and to offer autobiographical insight from his own experiences with the horn. It's a fast-paced and rewarding read.”—Will Friedwald, jazz critic for The New York Sun

“Krin Gabbard, a university professor in comparative literary and cultural studies, is also an amateur trumpeter, describing himself as a ‘come-back player.’ A life-long enthusiast who gave up playing when he was a student, he has taken up the trumpet again after forty years, while writing this fascinating exploration of its history in general and its contribution to American culture in particular. You have to ‘blow to know,’ he tells us, and Hotter Than That benefits enormously from his account of a personal odyssey to find himself the ideal trumpet and mouthpiece with which he parallels his argument. He may in the process have become, as he describes himself, ‘a hopeless equipment geek’ but, for his literary purposes, advantageously so . . . Gabbard’s achievement in Hotter Than That has been to chart this musical and cultural shift in a vivid and engrossing history which along the way incorporates perspectives on politics (racial and gender), literature and film. He is particularly good on the role played by the trumpet in the cinema, how several movies featuring troubled trumpeters make the rather banal connection between failure to hit the high note and sexual impotence, and, much more interestingly, how the trumpet’s tonal range has been used to convey complex emotional states.”—John Mole, The Times (UK)

“Krin Gabbard’s love of music, his passion for history, and his keen raconteur’s voice and ear all combine to create an extraordinary brass fantasia.  In Hotter Than That, Gabbard writes through jazz toward the wonder and complexity of human achievement, and with wit and grace, reminds us that through music, we can discover love, and through love, we discover the world.”—George E. Lewis, Case Professor of American Music, Columbia University

“This is the smartest book about a single musical instrument that I've ever read. Like Miles Davis, who attended Juilliard and apprenticed with Charlie Parker, Krin Gabbard turns his immense learning into lines that are quick, witty, and irresistibly alluring. How did the trumpet emerge as the first-chair instrument in jazz history? What is this beautiful horn's significance as an instrument of desire and romance? A triumph of the new jazz studies, Hotter than That is for all who play music (especially for all trumpeters), and for all who are yearning for an enriched understanding of what and how the music called jazz means.”—Robert G. O'Meally, author of Lady Day: The Many Faces of Billie Holiday and founder of The Center for Jazz Studies at Columbia University

"Would jazz exist without the trumpet?  The instrument defines the art, as Krin Gabbard demonstrates in this revelatory book.  His instrument is an uncommonly keen, probing mind, and, with it, Gabbard redefines the art of jazz."—David Hajdu

“As he has done before, Krin Gabbard has written a book with a vision that is neither mine nor anyone elses's. It is more than unique or exotic. There is always substance to his overview and that substance brings authority, whether you agree with his point of view or not. We can say that of only a few of our writers: those who take actual chances.”—Stanley Crouch

"Hotter Than That is a secondary jazz trumpet player's history of jazz trumpet. He writes the way traditional trumpets sound—brightly, clearly and never losing the point."—Jeff Simon, Buffalo News