Book Review - Bill Bruford Autobiography

Bill Bruford BiographyPublished in The Message, June 10 2009Drummer/composer Bill Bruford is widely known as not only one of the greatest drummers of rock, having recorded and toured with such progressive heavy-hitters as Yes, King Crimson and Genesis, but also an accomplished jazz drummer and composer as well.
Bruford recently announced his retirement from performing after some 40 years in the music business and coinciding with the commencement of his remarkable touring career, Bruford teams up with Canada’s Jawbone Press to release this unique autobiography. Trying to describe the autobiography within the confines of this review is unlikely, just as I am sure, Bruford attempting to document his entire musical adventure within the confines of a 300–page book also very unlikely.
What Bruford does however, is to not only offer up intruiging insight as to what he was thinking during specific situations, but also what he might have been thinking towards particular individuals within these situations. Bruford pulls no punches, if he thought his fellow twenty–something–year–old Yes bandmates were acting like immature bafoons, by–golly he's going to tell you exactly that! The honesty mixes in a bit of ole' English humor to what is mostly a very intelligent, well thought out perspective about music and life on the road from one of the most multi–genre accomplished musicians on the planet. Not only can Bruford tell tales of rock–and–roll grandeur, but also intricate musings of performing within a jazz context or intimate chamber music setting.
It is hard to think of a drummer whose repertoire spans the vast musical horizon quite like Mr. Bruford. From the progressive and expressive freedom of the aforementioned Yes and King Crimson, to the individual experimentation of UK and his own bands Bruford and Earthworks, to the jazz ensembles of more recent years, Bill Bruford consistently stretched the boundaries of rock and jazz by always pushing the envelope.
It will be quite interesting for not only the loyal fan, but even the casual ones, to read such a unique and personal perspective on the life and times of such an accomplished drumming legend.