Claire P. Gordon, Author Of 'The Color Of Music', To Be Featured In New TV Series 'A Woman's Pursuit'

Claire P. Gordon was Duke Ellington’s secretary when she was in her 20’s. She is the author of several books about jazz. 'The Color of Music', her first novel, is an unusual story about bi-racial twins. The book was recently nominated in the 2010 Global eBook Awards

Claire P. Gordon, author of 'The Color of Music', will be appearing in a new TV series entitled 'A Woman's Pursuit'. The show explores the inner journey of a few special women, whose goals were reached and how these accomplishments helped them give back through creative and/or humanitarian endeavors.

"I was surprised," stated Ms. Gordon, "when Deanna Elkin asked if I would be one of the special women on the show she is producing. I immediately thought of women in congress, the senate, and heads of big businesses, but she said she wanted me. I have agreed to do it and a shooting date is scheduled for later this month."

In addtion, Ms. Gordon's latest book, 'The Color Of Music' was nominated for a 2010 Global eBook Award in the Entertainment and Performing Arts (Music/Dance/Film) Fiction category.

Ms Gordon will be appearing at a book signing on August 13, from 2-4 PM at Coalesce Book Store in Morro Bay, California as well. There will be refreshments and live music at the event. Her popular jazz memoirs, 'My Unforgettable Jazz Friends', will be available for signing.

Claire P. Gordon, lives on the California Central Coast. Her previous books about jazz are 'Boy Meets Horn, the Autobiography of Rex Stewart', 'Marshal Royal, Jazz Survivor' and 'My Unforgettable Jazz Friends'. In 'The Color of Music' she tells a gripping story about twins. Although separated and raised in different cultures, both twins have musical talent and like jazz.

The children are the identical boy twins of a couple – the father a famous black jazz pianist and the mother, his blonde girl friend. He dies, she is alone when the twins are born, and unable to keep them. One is raised by a French couple, who didn’t know that his father was black, and the other adopted by a black American couple who know only the father's race.

"This novel," stated Ms. Gordon, "has been rolling around in my head for many years. The French couple raise one twin as their own white child in Quebec, Canada. The other grows up with black parents in South Central Los Angeles. There are twists and turns and cliff-hangers in every chapter."

Claire Gordon brings a unique and very personal perspective to this story, as she was the secretary for Duke Ellington. A Caucasian, she served in this role during a time when race and color were not issues to be politely debated or discussed. Segregation was a hard cold fact of everyday life. She observed discrimination against these world class musicians, allowing her to bring a perspective to 'The Color Of Music' that very few people could manage.

Ms. Gordon has recently been interviewed numerous times on both television and radio. She is available for media interviews and can be contacted using the information below or by email at clgordon@charter.net.'The Color Of Music' is available at her website at www.TheColorOf MusicNovel.com and from Amazon.com. 'The Color Of Music' is available in both paperback and Kindle versions.

Claire P Gordon
The Color Of Music
ISBN 978-0-9749814-0-6

Profile:

Claire P. Gordon was born in Los Angeles, California. The subject of twins always intrigued her because she was raised with a cousin her age, creating the concept and inner feeling of being a twin.

Claire skipped through school, graduating from LA High when she was sixteen. She enrolled at UCLA and then transferred to Berkeley, Her first love was music and specifically jazz music. Through being in the right place and the right time and strokes of luck, she became acquainted with Nat King Cole as well as the famous band leader Duke Ellington. A few years later this was the stepping stone to becoming Duke's first and probably only secretary.

While working there, she met the young songwriter, Irving Gordon. They began seeing each other and after a year, they married. Irving’s career flourished as he turned out many songs. One that he placed with a publisher was a disappointment because the company had been unable to get anyone to record the song. When Claire heard this, she dialed Nat Cole's number. Her old friend had become a big celebrity but not too big to remember his long-time fans. Nat King Cole looked at the sheet music, played the notes and sang the words. “I’ll record this for you, Claire,” he said. Thus was born one of his biggest hits, 'Unforgettable'.

Claire Gordon is the author of 'Boy Meets Horn, the Autobiography of Rex Stewart', 'Marshal Royal, Jazz Survivor', her own memoir entitled 'My Unforgettable Jazz Friends' and finally 'The Color Of Music'.

Contact:

Claire P. Gordon
clgordon@charter.net
www.TheColorOfMusicNovel.com
PO Box 526
Pismo Beach, Ca 93448