A few more rounds with our old friend Al: that’s the tone of Murray Talks Music, a new Albert Murray collection, just in time for his 100th birthday, framed by appreciations from its editor, Paul Devlin, and critics Gary Giddins and Greg Thomas.

But what if Murray wasn’t your old friend? Worse, what if you’ve never readStomping the Blues, the greatest work of jazz literature ever? Well, then, you are much poorer in soul — and before you buy Murray Talks Music, you need to start with his masterpiece, his Fifth Symphony, his “Love Supreme,” his “Sgt. Pepper.” There’s a keyhole in your mind into which Stomping the Blues will fit perfectly, and reading Murray’s remarkable rhapsody of words will open a door of perception that will make you — and I really mean this — a better person.

Keep reading.