Gene Santoro, music critic for the New...

Gene Santoro, music critic for the New York Daily News and the Nation, has produced, in “Stir It Up: Musical Mixes From Roots to Jazz,” a rarity, a collection of essays originally done for periodicals that is thoughtful and well-crafted. To his credit, he is as insightful about jazz as he is about other forms, touching on musical artists from John Coltrane and Charles Mingus to Elvis Costello, Bruce Springsteen and Sam Cooke. And Santoro’s stylish writing manages, in almost every case, to bring fascinating perspective and informative context to each of his subjects.

* “Stir It Up: Musical Mixes From Roots to Jazz,” by Gene Santoro, published by Oxford University Press.