But Beautiful is a book about jazz and jazz musicians by Geoff Dyer. First published in 1991, it is the first of Dyer's so-called "genre-defying" works.[1]
Like Michael Ondaatje's Coming Through Slaughter, But Beautiful takes a fictionalised look at jazz. Divided into seven sections each covering a different legendary jazz figure, it uses historical details, photographs and music to paint the self-destruction and inspiration behind genius. Short vignettes of Duke Ellington and Harry Carney's famous between-gig road trips are interspersed throughout. It concludes with a seven-part analysis of jazz styles and influences that reads more like conventional music criticism.
Reception
The book is one of Dyer's most acclaimed works. Pianist Keith Jarrett said it was:
"The only book about jazz that I have recommended to my friends. It is a little gem with the distinction of being 'about' jazz rather than 'on' jazz. If closeness to the material determines a great solo, Mr. Dyer's book is one."[2]
In The New York Times Book Review, critic Ralph Blumenthal wrote, "Like the music he evokes so lyrically, Geoff Dyer's But Beautiful, a quasi-biographical critique of nine jazz legends, relies heavily on improvisation. You don't have to be a jazz buff to savor this book—but you may be one when you're done."[3] In The New York Times, critic Richard Bernstein discussed the book's "electrifying, typically gemlike passages of criticism," and called the work, "marvelously lyrical."[4]