Off the Books: A Jazz Life

Peter Leitch’s memoir Off the Books: A Jazz Life by Vehicule Press in Montreal recounts the in vivid detail a life lived in search of excellence in music and art, learning his craft on the bandstand in the days before jazz education, while battling depression and drug addiction. His depiction of the Montreal of his youth reveals a long-gone vibrant club scene in that city. Peter’s moves, first to Toronto in 1977 and then to his present home , New York City, in 1982 are also recounted in detail. There is a great deal of humor in some of his recollections and observations, and more than a few hard truths leavened with bits of absurdist fantasy.

A launch party was held in September for the CD and book at Walker’s in TriBeCa, home of Peter Leitch’s long-running Sunday night duo gig.