Simon Spillett completes new book.

(From Simon Spillett on F/b)

It's done!

Two weeks and 87,000 words later I've completed the book.

'Upward, Backwards and Free: A Journey into Jazz' is a series of twenty-five essays on jazz musicians and albums influential and inspirational to me from the age of 12, when I first became seriously interested in jazz, to age 22, just after I'd turned to music as a profession.

Within its pages you'll encounter a wide range of leading jazz figures and jazz styles - from Coleman Hawkins to Courtney Pine; mainstream to the avant-garde - together with explorations of subjects including the jazz fringe, the record business and jazz education.

But at its heart, and threading throughout the book, is the story of a young man's relationship with his father and how through it he came to appreciate that jazz had changed his life.

It's my way of paying tribute to my Dad and saying thank you to him for all he gave me. It's also my way of in turn passing on the music, just as he did.

Thanks, Dad. I miss you so much...