Mel Lewis (1929-1990) was born Melvin Sokoloff to Jewish Russian immigrants in Buffalo, New York. He first picked up his father’s drumsticks at the age of two and at 17 he was a full-time professional musician. The View from the Back of the Band is the first biography of this legendary jazz drummer. For over fifty years, Lewis provided the blueprint for how a drummer could subtly support any musical situation. While he made his name with Stan Kenton and Thad Jones, and with his band at the Village Vanguard, it was the hundreds of recordings that he made as a sideman and his ability to mentor young musicians that truly defined his career. Away from the drums, Lewis's passionate and outspoken personality made him one of jazz music's greatest characters. It is often through Lewis's own anecdotes, as well as many from the musicians who knew him best, that this book traces the career of one of the world’s greatest drummers. Previously unpublished interviews, personal memoirs, photos, musical transcriptions, and a selected discography add to this comprehensive biography.

There are many gluten-free cookbooks on the market, but none like Goodbye Gluten! Roughly one-third of people in the U.S. are either gluten intolerant or have celiac disease, and for these people, eating gluten can make them sick—very sick. The engaging team of Kim Stanford and Bill Backhaus represents both these audiences, and together they have developed over 200 flavorful and tempting recipes for all types of dishes, from appetizers to desserts. Goodbye Gluten is both a cookbook and shopping guide for people who do not want gluten in their diets and are tired of missing out on their favorite foods. In each recipe the authors use everyday brand names that can be found at your local grocery store, which means you no longer have to check labels to decipher if a product is gluten-free. Another appeal of the book is its use of Texas and Tex-Mex flavors to add a kick to what can be bland fare. Goodbye Gluten makes it easy to live the gluten-free lifestyle, because it is not just a diet, but a lifestyle. With 30 color photos of the completed dishes, even the most dedicated bread-lover will want to get into the kitchen and start …