Sunday, March 23, 2008

"The Gavin Report"

I've just become aware of a new web site devoted to that superb wordsmith James Gavin, whose writings on show business, the arts and popular culture have appeared in numerous publications over the past couple of decades. Its address is---natch---http://jamesgavin.com/

The two-decades-length of Gavin's publishing career and, for the most part, his oft-recherche content might lead one to surmise that he could be a tad long-in-the-tooth. But, not so. When he penned Intimate Nights, his 1991 overview of (the book's subtitle) "The Golden Age of New York Cabaret", the Fordham University grad was but mere protoplasm in Buster Brown Shoes, and he was still an almost-mere pup when he published his definitive Chet Baker bio, Deep in a Dream, in 2002. Currently the NYC writer is at work on another (as is his wont) definitive bio, this time of Lena Horne, skedded to hit the book stalls in the not-too-distant future.

James' website appears to contain almost every last delicious scrap he's written that hasn't been collected between the covers of a book proper. As such, this constitutes a double-wide load of writing, including profiles, liner notes, and essays on any manner of subject matter. All of it. . .cherce!

In the final analysis, it's not to my advantage to redirect you to Gavin's web site. 'Cause once you fall the down the rabbit hole of this amazing site, you risk getting lost in that particular corner of cyber space, mayhaps never to return. But----once again that address--- http://jamesgavin.com is just way too wonderful not to share. . .as is MY wont.

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