Bill Bruford

Book Reviews

Bill Bruford:

The Autobiography

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• ‘[Bill Bruford – The Autobiography] is an unusually literate and reflective work which dissects the drummer's art, and the dilemmas faced by modern musicians in general, with an almost surgical precision’. David Sinclair:Guardian: Best Music Books of the Year: Dec 19 2009
• ‘Bill Bruford’s autobiography is a frequently hilarious recounting of his long life in progressive rock and jazz. Defying every drummer joke you’ve ever heard, he writes successfully from inside the music’. David Fricke: Rolling Stone: March 19 2009
• ‘…the text is intimate, clever, concise, and witty – a bit like Bill’s drumming’. Will Romano: Modern Drummer June 2009
• ‘Professorial in its remit and written with a bone-dry wit and an authoritative elegance that will be the envy of many far more high- profile cultural commentators, this might just end up becoming one of the best-informed, most informative textbooks of its time’. Marco Rossi: Shindig: April 2009
• ‘An engaging and dryly witty style that makes for an easy, can't- put-it-down read... This book addresses matters anecdotal, technical, practical, emotional and philosophical with style, panache and élan’. John Kelman: All about Jazz: March 2009
• ‘Head and shoulders above the majority of books in its class’. Jeff Miers: Buffalo News: March 24 2009
• ‘Bruford is a literate biographer and honest’. Steven Rosen: Curled up With a Good Book: March 2009
• ‘It’s frank, cynical, very amusing, inspiring, thought provoking and highly recommended’. Brent Keefe: Drummer magazine: April 2009
• ‘Bill Bruford’s The Autobiography is one of the most original books you’ll ever come across, penned by a man that some would still label a ‘rock star’. Adam Garrie: USA Progressive Music.com: March 2009
• ‘The most extraordinary autobiography I’ve ever read on music’. David Etheridge: Performing Musician: April 2009
• ‘This is an intelligent, articulate and sensitive book’. Andy Robson: Jazzwise Magazine: April 2009
• ‘...a terrific autobiography’. Geoff Nicholls: Rhythm: April 2009
• ‘His insight is keen, his stories compelling’. Vintage Guitar: June 2009
• ‘Bill Bruford’s story is not just for drummers. It is for all artists, musicians, music lovers, or anyone who wonders what it’s really like to spend your life trying to make the music you love’. Neil Peart, Rush: May 2009
• ‘This is a very honest and realistic look at the music business and the differences between being famous and being successful… (Bruford’s) story is ultimately a triumph of artistic integrity over a music industry that often seems to despise creativity.’ Rick Mattingly: Percussive Arts Society: June 2009
• ‘There has never been a doubt that Bruford is a consummate musician; this book proves he's an extraordinary wordsmith as well’. Kevin Wierzbicki: Antimusic.com: September 2009