Paul Steinbeck is an associate professor of music at Washington University in St. Louis. With Fred Anderson, he is co-author of Exercises for the Creative Musician (2010), a method book for improvisers. Steinbeck’s latest book, Message to Our Folks, examines the history and performances of the Art Ensemble, one of the most influential groups in jazz and experimental music. Message to Our Folks is available in English from the University of Chicago Press, in Italian from Edizioni Quodlibet, and in French from the Presses Universitaires du Midi (PUM). His next book, Sound Experiments: The Music of the AACM, is in production at the University of Chicago Press. Steinbeck is also a bassist, composer, and improviser.
For thirty-three years, until his death on November 8, 1999, trumpet player Lester Bowie was the face of the Art Ensemble, playing trumpet at center stage while wearing the white laboratory coat that marked him as the sound scientist in charge of the band’s musical experiments.
Dreams to Remember is not without its redeeming features. Redding fans may appreciate Ribowsky’s enthusiasm for his subject, and the book is less inflammatory than a 2001 Redding biography so sensational it sparked a libel suit. Readers looking for new insights about Redding and 1960s soul music, however, should leave it on the shelf.