Book Review - Blowing my own trumpet by James Morrison

Blowing my own trumpet by James Morrison
Sydney: Pier 9, 2006               ISBN 9781740458788

James Morrison would definitely be Australia's best-known home-grown Jazz musician. He is also well known as a raconteur and sometime TV presenter. Blowing my own trumpet is not really an autobiography as such, more a collection of vignettes recalling moments of a life.

As such, this book is a very easy read, and good for a laugh or two at the crazy adventures of James and his brother John (with Christian names like that, it's no surprise to find that their father was a preacher). The stories of trumpet and trombone playing are almost upstaged by the stories of boating - including living on boats both in Sydney Harbour and in New York, and nearly dying sailing across the Tasman Sea.

The stories of gigs around the world mostly focus on the mistakes, like turning up and playing with the wrong band, or hearing your own band live on the radio playing a gig while you're driving over the Harbour Bridge.

If you are looking for a description of the musical life, or a technical insight into trumpet playing or jazz music, this is not the book for you. If you like an amusing read for a sunny afternoon, you could do worse.


Cheers for now, from
A View Over the Bell