It is the first hours of Thursday, July 6, 1961 and a young man lies dead on a road near Geneva, 300 miles from New York, his body burnt beyond recognition on a hot summer night. A star of the American jazz scene has been extinguished. In a few moments, at just 25 years of age, the life of Scott LaFaro, one of the most innovative bassists in the history of jazz, is over. Solid. Life and death of a jazz genius/Scott LaFaro is neither a biography nor a musicological essay, it is a study, a portrait. The story is mostly concentrated on the examination of some events that explain the originality and complexity of this musician and the period beginning from 1955, the year in which he leaves the University of Ithaca and starts his first tour as a professional musician, until the moment of the tragic accident in which he lost his life. Short comments from reviews of the Italian version Solid. Quel diavolo di Scott LaFaro: Absolutely among the best books on music of this year!. Professor Guido Michelone, Milan La Cattolica University, Italy; Staiano shows how even a short life can be rich in stimuli Professor Claudio Sessa, Trieste Conservatory, Italy; ...an accurate account of a real innovator, with new insights on the connections between jazz and literature and on the Californian avant-garde scene. Professor Luca Cerchiari, Milan IULM University, Italy; ... a documented portrait of an artist as a young man able to highlight the formative aspects, the passions, the encounters with the great artists. Professor Franco Bergoglio, Turin University, Italy; ...an uncommon narrative agility makes for smooth reading, although it is still an open story, of which the ending is known.... Critic Francesco Cataldo Verrina; Staiano's book.... flows well and those who know about jazz will read it with pleasure. Double bass player Giovanni Tommaso. Short comment from a review of the English version: Staiano's book is a jewel in the history of jazz. The author takes the reader by the hand and immerses us in the New York and Los Angeles jazz scene of the late 1950s... Professor Agnese Codebò, Ph.D. Assistant Professor at Villanova University, Pennsylvania, USA.
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