In Volume 1 "VIRTUOSITY" Eddie's brothers/cousins attended music school daily where they learned multiple instruments and to read and notate music - very unusual for African Indian Americans.They toured with SW circus,vaudeville and minstrel troupes. As a result, Eddie became a master arranger, composer, trombonist and guitarist.

Major Band leaders, black and white, hired his unique ability to produce big-band swing music HITS: Bennie Moten, Count Basie, Jimmie Lunceford, The Sweethearts of Rhythm, Harry James. He masterminded the "dueling tenors" of Lester Young and (Eddie's cousin) Herschel Evans; Choreographed Brass Sections; Co-composed "I Don't Want To Set The World on Fire" for The Ink Spots; and he arranged the NARAS Hall of Fame hit: "In The Mood" for Glenn Miller !

Eddie recorded big hits on amplified guitar on "Honey Keep Your Mind On Me", and resonated guitar on "Hittin' the Bottle". John Hammond, Sr., produced Eddie showcasing electric guitar on : "KC5 Lester Young Sessions". Dave Dexter produced Eddie showcasing a new esoteric guitar sound on"I Want A Little Girl" and "Magic Carpet." Read all about it! The book VIRTUOSITY ends at World War II. Volume 2, "Eddie Durham and the Ladies of Jazz," explores his history working with women, beginning with Maime Smith, ending with Miss Rhapsody and including Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald among many others. Volume 4, "Eddie Durham and The Harlem Blues & Jazz Band" is a diary over the 1970s decade of touring. The books contain over 100 photos each.

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REVIEWS, INTERVIEWS, EXHIBITS, FESTIVALS

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Calaboose African American History Museum - Exhibit

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Topsy M. Durham: Speech at "WHAM" (PBS) Documentary Screening (Julliard 2024)

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JAZZ on the TUBE  - audio interview by Lester Perkins​

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THE SYNCOPATED TIMES  - collection of articles by Dave Radlauer 

- links to hear the music (at the end of this article, by Topsy M. Durham)

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Texas State Historical Asso. - disquisition by Dave Oliphant

National Jazz Museum in Harlem audio interview by Loren Schoenberg

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Pictorial Discography

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ALL ABOUT JAZZ - Author profile

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Let's SWING DANCE - Classes in world famous Harlem, NY

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