Jazz on a Saturday Night; with: signed publisher’s poster

New York: The Blue Sky Press / Scholastic, 2007. First edition of Leo and Diane Dillon’s tribute to American jazz musicians, accompanied by a signed promotional poster. As a work-weary crowd gathers in a concert hall to hear live music on a Saturday night, jazz greats including Miles Davis, Max Roach, and Thelonious Monk fill the stage, creating a fantasy concert. The Dillons’ rhyming captions capture the energy of the room: “Now Ella Fitzgerald sings bebop doo-wop! / Can’t hold still, get our fill, never will, please don’t stop!” Leo and Diane Dillon won numerous awards over the course of their long career, including back-to-back Caldecott Medals in (truncated) 1976 and 1977, for Ashanti to Zulu and Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears, the only consecutive medals given to date; Jazz on a Saturday Night would be a Coretta Scott King Honor Book for 2008. They were great jazz fans, and contributed to several children’s books on the subject. On the companion compact disc included here, the Dillons offer a spoken word introduction to the genre, demonstrate instruments, and record an original composition for a full audio-literary experience. The signed publisher’s poster reproduces the two-page spread of Charlie Parker and John Coltrane trading riffs on saxophone. A fine signed book and poster by the celebrated husband-and-wife illustration team. Single volume, measuring 11 x 8.5 inches: [34]. Original glossy color pictorial boards, original unclipped color pictorial dust jacket, color pictorial endpapers. Color illustrations on every page. Compact disc recording in rear pocket, as issued. Signed by the Dillons on title page. Poster measuring 18 x 24 inches, signed by the Dillons. (Inventory #: 1003936)