On the Way to the Sky is a hybrid book in that it’s part memoir, part biography, with over a dozen essays by such luminaries as Maria Schneider, Jim McNeely, John Mosca, Darcy James Argue, Dave Rivello, John Hollenbeck, and the late Terry Teachout, as well as shorter tributes by prominent musicians, writers, and family members. Stephans also presents three chronologically arranged chapters that trace Brookmeyer’s musical trajectory via his recordings, from 1952 through 2011.

In spite of Brookmeyer’s six-decade career as a master of the valve trombone and piano—and as an iconoclastic composer, arranger, and educator—he has rarely received the exposure to the listening public that he so richly deserves. In Stephans’s words, “When writing about music and musicians, a writer’s responsibility is to expand public awareness of other voices in all musical genres.” His dedication to illuminating the Brookmeyer legacy is his palpable raison d’Être.