This story was first published in the July 2010 issue of Ebony Magazine.

There was only one day during summer vacations in the mid-1960’s, that I was happy to wake up early. That was the day in August when Mom got us out of bed in the pre-dawn light for The Family Road Trip. My father loved the open road and exploring sights unseen. We all got to share in his adventures.

In the weeks before the journey Mom would sew summer outfits for us girls. The night before, we laid out our clothes and went to bed early, excitement …

BE author Artt Frank is busy polishing the second volume of his memoir about his friendship and collaboration with jazz great Chet Baker. Here is a SNEAK PEEK from the upcoming memoir: “Chet Baker: The Later Years.” Artt describes playing a gig with Chet (Trumpet), Drew Salperto (Piano), Mike Formanek (Bass) Artt Frank (Drums) at the Backstreet Club (New Haven, CT) in February 1980.

Burnin’ at Backstreet

“Drew announced Chet’s name and when we hit the stand, the entire room fell completely and totally silent. Without a word, Chet lifted the trumpet to his lips and began to play a …

By DeeAnn Veeder

So this happened. Just a couple of weeks ago. At Book Expo America 2015 (BEA)http://www.bookexpoamerica.com/ in New York City, at the Javits Center. I was attending the conference with the newest member of our BooksEndependent (BE) http://www.booksendependent.com/ team, Samuel E. Woods-Corr, our Digital Marketing Administrator. This was the first opportunity we’d had to connect as a team, and I became more and more impressed with this young man over those two days. He is enthusiastic, smart, and charismatic. He is knowledgeable and confident in areas that complement my ability to work a typewriter. He’s a super …