The George Kelley Collection
Adventure Stories


THE HOT AND THE COOL
Edwin Gilbert
New York: Popular Library, 1954.
Bison Catalog Record

The vibrant world of fifties jazz comes to life in this tale of the Wade Stuart Sextet, featuring Kip Nelson on piano. The group can be found playing nightly at the Music Box, a smoke-filled roadhouse just across the George Washington Bridge from New York City. In addition to Kip, there's Davey on bass, Eli on guitar, Buzz on alto sax, Red on drums, and Wade himself, the front man with the trumpet. Despite the fact that it's Wade's band, Kip is the emotional heart and soul of the group. He pushes them, drives them and holds them together with his dream of one day cutting their own record and achieving big-time recognition in the jazz world. When a gorgeous young vocalist named Andie is tossed into the mix, Kip fears that the lovely newcomer will destroy his combo's cohesiveness and the group's ability to explore new musical directions. But Andie's passionate intensity is intoxicating, and Kip finds himself drawn to her in a relationship that forces him to come to terms with the physical and emotional scars from his past.