Musings gathers together the essays, speeches, liner notes, dictionary entries, and magazine articles of one of the most important musical figures of the century. The writings in this collection cover such artists as Paul Whiteman, Duke Ellington, Cecil Taylor, Ornette Coleman, Sonny Rollins, Sarah Vaughan, Gil Evans; and such topics as the "Third Stream," the art of conducting, the future of opera, and the need for broadening the audience for quality music. Musings is essential reading for anyone interested in twentieth-century music.