Leslie Gourse - R.I.P.

[Lois Gilbert]

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Leslie Gourse, 65, Biographer of Jazz Artists, Dies

January 5, 2005
By THE NEW YORK TIMES


Leslie Gourse, a prolific author best known for her
biographies of a wide range of jazz musicians and singers,
died on Dec. 23 at her home in Manhattan. She was 65.

The cause was respiratory problems, said her cousin Melvin
Zurier.

The author or editor of more than 30 books, Ms. Gourse
devoted most of her writing to profiles of jazz virtuosos,
starting in 1984 with "Louis' Children: American Jazz
Singers," a collection of biographical sketches.

Her most notable full-length biographies included
"Unforgettable: The Life and Mystique of Nat King Cole"
(1991), "Sassy: The Life of Sarah Vaughan" (1993) and
"Skain's Domain: A Biography" (1999), which she wrote with
the participation of its subject, Wynton Marsalis. She
later chronicled the lives of Art Blakey (2001) and Carmen
McRae (2002).

The magazine Jazz Times named her biography "Straight, No
Chaser: The Life and Genius of Thelonious Monk" (1997), one
of the top jazz books of the year

Her many books for children included at least six musical
surveys along the lines of her 1998 book for young adults,
"Deep Down in Music: The Art of the Great Jazz Bassists."
She also profiled performers like Mahalia Jackson and
Gloria Estefan for a series of children's books published
by Franklin Watts.

Roberta Leslie Gourse was born on Jan. 1, 1939, in Fall
River, Mass., and graduated from Columbia in 1960. She soon
published "With Gall and Honey," a novel depicting romance
and self-discovery in Israel.

She is survived by her mother, Zelda Fisher Gourse, of
Providence, R.I.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/05/bo...c0d96a776c3401

[BaconFat]

I am very sad to hear of this. I loved Leslie's work and her book on Monk
is my favorite musician's biography. Deepest sympathy for her family and
friends.

[cookie]

Though I am not a great fan of Ms. Gourse's writing style, there is no doubt that she deeply loved this music. While I don't care for the syntax and some other features of MADAME JAZZ, it did make me more aware of the work and history of women instrumentalists. I'm surprised this book was not mentioned in the obit. Of the Gourse books I've read, this is the one that I feel is most important. Until Gourse's book on women players, there seemed to be a dearth of material on the topic. She went to great pains to track down as many women instrumentalists as possible. My homegirl Molly Macmillan out here in the sticks even made it (via Marian McPartland). The point is, she cared enough to make as thourough a list as she could by press time. That list of women players was alone worth the price of admission.

RIP, Ms. Leslie Gourse.