Oceans of Time: The Musical Autobiography of Billy Hart

"Drummer Billy Hart, who turns 85 this year, is a jazz legend of multifarious experience: He played with soul-jazz titan Jimmy Smith, with crooner Shirley Horn, and with a funk-obsessed Miles Davis, among dozens of others. Reading Oceans of Time – a slender book co-authored and organized by Ethan Iverson, pianist in the long-running Billy Hart Quartet – feels like pulling up a chair as Hart holds court, spilling stories (and just a little tea). His tone is warmly approachable, even mildly self-deprecating, but he’s clear about what he’s learned and why it matters."