Hajdu’s Heroes and Villains balances simplicity and depth

book-cover-heroes-villainsReading David Hajdu‘s Heroes and Villains is enough to make any rational music critic hang up their keyboard and walk away. His work for The New Republic is a true joy to read. Hajdu writes not clinically, but with a matter-of-fact tone that gets to the heart of the subject about which he’s writing. While he avoids overly flowery prose, Hajdu’s words evoke a simple lyrical charm.

Hajdu’s operating voice lends authority and credence to all sides of of a story. He frequently plays the devil’s advocate, as in his profile of jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis. In this piece, he speaks both to Marsalis’ positive uplift of jazz with his work as part of Jazz at Lincoln Center, as well as his contribution to to the genre’s stagnation.
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