Beneath Missouri Skies
Pat Metheny in Kansas City 1964-1972
venmo
“Brewer presents a very detailed yet coherent and balanced view of Metheny’s music growth, and the KC area musicians that were part of that development. That approach gives the reader an insight into the overall KC jazz scene at the time.”
Terry Perkins, reviewer for Downbeat magazine
“I first met Pat in 1973. He was sounding great and seemed to have a vision of what was to come. It’s interesting to read how the kid from Lee’s Summit got it together at such a young age.”
John Scofield, Grammy Award-winning jazz guitarist
“Geniuses don’t just appear out of nowhere, though their uniqueness can make it seem so. Carolyn Glenn Brewer sheds as much light on the nature versus nurture debate as she does on the zeitgeist of the 1960s in this book about Pat Metheny. Readers will come away as better-informed listeners to the genius of Metheny’s music. And, as her book details, the dedication of the music educators and mentors who nurtured Pat’s nascent abilities contributed to the realization of an artist whose music would literally touch millions. An enjoyable and informative read.”
Peter Erskine, two-time Grammy Award-winning drummer and Professor of Practice at the Thornton School of Music at USC
“This book provides an interesting portrait of the greater Kansas City jazz community and how they embraced and nurtured an exceptional young guitarist, Pat Metheny. All musicians reflect their mentors and major influence, but rarely are they chronicled in a book filled with such personal recollections about a jazz superstar-to-be during their formative years. Pat has achieved the hardest thing in music with his great playing and compositions: he has established his own original ‘voice’ which resonates with wildly enthusiastic audiences around the world.”
Chris Brubeck, orchestral composer and jazz bassist with The Brubeck Brothers Quartet, Triple Play and The Dave Brubeck Quartet
“Beneath Missouri Skies beautifully details Pat’s early musical life, including his formative experiences with family, friends, teachers, bandleaders, and bandmates (some of whom never received the fame and recognition they deserved). Even after playing with Pat for 18 years, I learned so many things about him I previously didn’t know.”
Paul Wertico, Pat Metheny Group drummer (1983-2001) and Associate Professor of Jazz Studies, Roosevelt University
“This is a really cool book about the early years of one of the greatest guitar players and composers on the planet. Pat’s also a really wonderful person. Lee’s Summit and the Kansas City area must be a great place to grow up.”
Mike Stern, award-winning guitarist with Miles Davis and Blood, Sweat & Tears
Changing The Tune
The Kansas City Women’s Jazz Festival
“Brewer ranges beyond a chronological account, vividly covering career paths of artists, political and financial pressures, as well as personal issues particularly affecting women living life on the road. Covering all the issues that it does, musical and non-musical, this enlightening account provides a fascinating behind-the-scenes picture of the foundation and operation of a jazz festival and will appeal to many jazz lovers.
The WJF’s success prompted numerous women-only and women-dominated events that continue today. For this and the careers launched or boosted by appearances at the WJF, Carol Comer and Dianne Gregg deserve the gratitude of all true lovers of jazz. In turn, these two friends are doubtless grateful to have been very well served by Carolyn Glenn Brewer.”
Bruce Crowther, Jazz Journal
“Changing the Tune is a definitive look at the first major women’s jazz festival and its lasting impact… [It] is a fitting tribute to the Kansas City Women’s Jazz Festival’s achievements and influence, as well as a valuable record of the ongoing struggle of talented female musicians to gain their rightful place in the jazz world.”
Terry Perkins, Downbeat
“With Changing the Tune Carolyn Glenn Brewer has written an enjoyable and illuminating tour through this historic event—the first women’s jazz festival in the world.”
Robin Lloyd, KNKX radio website, Tacoma, WA.
“Changing the Tune… records a piece of history that should never be forgotten… Those few short years were yet another proud moment for Kansas City jazz—making a story that’s well deserving of Brewer’s time and effort.”
Joe Klopus, Kansas City Star
“The book reads like a good story rather than a documentary… I recommend Changing the Tune without reservation.”
Roger Atkinson, Jam Magazine
Caught In The Path
“When tragedy strikes we are all neighbors. Exceptionally well written and cogently presented, Caught In The Path is an insightful and informative social history that everyone can identify with.”
The Midwest Book Review
“Carolyn Glenn Brewer is a fine writer who captures the drama and excitement off a horrendous moment… the night the tornado swept across our area.”
Walt Bodine, Talk Show Host, KCUR
“Brewer has compiled a rich and true tale of the impact, recovery, and lingering torment from a multiple-vortex, F5 tornado. As the stories unfold, one can almost see the smoldering rubble, and smell the aroma of electrical ozone and shredded trees.
Tornado survivors, disaster historians and Kansas City residents alike will appreciate Caught In The Path however, its most needed audience may be severe weather aficionados: storm chasers, storm spotters and professional meteorologists. To them (and me, a former NSSFC forecaster), Brewer shows the side of severe weather we too often fail to appreciate when we research, forecast, or observe storms.”
Roger Edwards
Caught Ever After
“Carolyn Glenn Brewer has told a fascinating and heart-rending story of ordinary people struggling with forces hugely beyond their control. She seems to have devoted years of her life to redeeming these lives and histories and it is much to her credit to have done so. This is a splendid achievement.”
John Walsh, bookideas.com
“Brewer tells stories of the survivors and explores their pain in well-written, engaging prose. The second half of the book is especially compelling, as she delves into the popular culture and societal norms that shaped the emotions of these children. We do not normally get such an in-depth look at the inner-life of survivors of tragedies, and Brewer brings us the intimate details in a straightforward, respectful manner. An excellent book.”
C. Rowan, BookReview.com
“The god-awful story of a monster tornado’s progress, told by Kansas City writer Brewer, who was also a witness. The [resulting] nightmares and scars are legion, and still much in evidence, but when you see a house lift up in the air about twenty feet, do a quarter turn, and disintegrate, nightmares and scars are to be expected. An almost unbearably vivid tale, experientially chromatic, but emotionally wrenching.”
Kirkus Review
“I was caught in the middle of this tornado. I was the only survivor in the house. It has been a long and amazing journey dealing with unanswered questions and ongoing physical disabilities. For forty-nine years I had no contact with any other survivors of this horrific event. These two books have helped to fill a very big hole in what happened that night and since. Thank you Carolyn Brewer for helping to fill that very big hole. To those who have survived a tornado, or were in any way touched by a tornado: READ THIS BOOK! It will help you to heal.”
Lynda K. Leopold