If It Swings, It's Music: The Autobiography of Hawaii's Gabe Baltazar Jr.
Gabe Baltazar is a living example of the rare Asian American jazz musician who enjoyed a national and international career, one that took place during an important transitional period when jazz was being transformed from a popular idiom into a bona fide tradition. His story provides insight into a real working jazz musician s life with all its headaches, victories, defeats, and joys. --Kevin Fellezs, Columbia UniversityTold in Gabe s own down-to-earth, inimitable voice, this is the first book-length autobiography of a Hawai i jazz artist. In relating his story, Gabe also documents a largely ignored chapter in the history of Hawaiian music that includes the popularity of big band jazz, the kamaaina musicians that scene fostered, and their role in Mainland jazz. --Jim Tranquada, Occidental CollegeA legendary Hawaii jazz musician tells his own story with the help of biographer Theo Garneau. The book reads as an extended oral history, taking us from Baltazar's birth in Hilo through local and national jazz scenes from the 1940s to today, including his years with Stan Kenton and his band in the early 1960s. It's a treat to hear a master describe both the objective craft and the subjective experience of performing at his level. --Honolulu Magazine, August 2012