Histria Books is pleased to announce the release of What You Learn Learning Music by Kevin Bales and Mike Shaw. This book is published by Histria A&E, the imprint dedicated to outstanding works in arts and entertainment.
In What You Learn Learning Music, jazz pianist Kevin Bales and singer-pianist Mike Shaw explore what making music teaches us about practice, confidence, and working with other people. Their approach is conversational, shaped by years of lessons, club dates, and the awkward business of getting better at something you love. Bales brings a teacher’s ear; Shaw brings the perspective of a working musician who returned to studying after decades away. Together, they question assumptions that reach well beyond the piano: that repetition guarantees progress, that originality means rejecting influence, and that you should wait until you’re ready before stepping forward. Jazz history sits alongside the practical realities of earning a living and finding people to play with.Â
For readers weary of shortcuts and polished success stories, the appeal is refreshingly concrete: an account of creative growth that makes room for frustration, generous teachers, imperfect performances, and the pleasure of playing.
Kevin Bales is a jazz pianist and educator whose collaborators include Wynton Marsalis, Marcus Printup, and René Marie. He won the American Pianist Association’s Jazz Piano Competition in 1994, and his decade of touring and recording with Marie culminated in a Grammy nomination. His album Beyond the Neighborhood, featuring the music of Fred Rogers, earned recognition among the top ten albums of 2018 from Cadence Magazine and AllAboutJazz.com. He teaches at Georgia State University. Mike Shaw is a singer-pianist, journalist, and author of the novel The Musician. His career spans touring from the late 1960s, performing in New Orleans, and leading an Atlanta-based jazz quartet. He writes about jazz for EarRelevant, ArtsATL, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Together, Bales and Shaw co-host the weekly podcast Music Life and Times and draw on decades of performing, teaching, and writing in What You Learn Learning Music.
