. . . . . . "In these short pieces, many of which are reprinted from the Journal, he celebrates some of the musicians he has admired over the years, including Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Count Basie, Charles Mingus, Dizzy Gillespie, Roy Eldridge and Merle Haggard, as well as lesser-known artists such as the members of the International Sweethearts of Rhythm, an all-woman band from the 1930s and '40s, and c" . . . .