We celebrated the release of Riffs in true G. Bruce Boyer style at @TheArmouryNYC. I’d heard saxophonist Barry “Bee” was going to perform—”He played with Prince,” a friend whispered to me—but what I didn’t realize was that he would be performing among us, moving from group to group.

Founder, CEO, and Muse of Tragedy of /alexandria

I call Boyer’s essays “memory essays” because, while they are sophisticated and well-researched criticism, it’s memory and joy that structure this book. What it felt like to hear Ella Fitzgerald’s scat singing for the first time, or to see Sinatra perform at a casino in Vegas.