The Ladies Who Sing With the Band
Chronologically (though very loosely) organized, Bennett's loquacious autobiography is entertaining rather than thought-provoking and offers little real insight into the world of jazz singing and life on the road. Almost every paragraph is either unrelated or very tenuously related to paragraphs before or after; it's as if BennettDwho was married to composer Andr  Previn and worked with such luminaries as Nat King Cole, Benny Goodman, and Dizzy GillespieDwere sitting around a table with friends reminiscing. The conversation rambles, and folksy sayings, cute asides, and hip jargon abound. So while the book would benefit from judicious editing, part of its charm resides in its scattershot style. Her constant references to "girl" and "boy" singers, however, seem ironic considering her age (born 1921) and the negative connotations these terms have regarding true jazz vocalists. Bennett's advice to aspiring jazz vocalists also seems rather shallow: "I have no explanation for why some singers can swing and others cannot, unless perhaps listening, playing, and singing jazz all your life make it second nature." Recommended with hesitation for music, academic, and public libraries.DWilliam G. Kenz, Moorhead State Univ., MNCopyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.