Scott Yanow, Jazz Critic

WELCOME TO MY WEBSITE!

I'm a jazz journalist who loves all eras of jazz and blues. I hope that you find my website
fun and informative. You will find jazz festival reviews (Monterey, Playboy, Montreal, etc.) and
stories from a pair of IAJE conventions. There are links to the Los Angeles Jazz Scene, a paper
that I write for monthly. I have written ten books (so far!) and have included information about
each of them. See what you think about some of my favorite jazz publicists, musicians and
singers.

I contribute regularly to Jazziz, Jazz Times (the Archivist column), Coda, the Los Angeles Jazz
Scene and occasionally appear elsewhere. I was the Senior Editor for the 3rd edition of the All
Music Guide For Jazz. I also write for the Jazz Heritage Club, wrote the biographies in the
2008 Playboy Jazz Festival program guide, and am involved in many jazz projects both large
and small.

Please take a look at ‘My Biography’ section. I have been writing about jazz for 33 years and
it has been said that I have reviewed more jazz recordings than anyone in history.

If you are a musician, I have included a ‘Musicians’ section below that provides information
about how I can help you promote yourself in addition to the lists that are mentioned above.
Many times who you contact can be the important key in opening the right doors for your
success in the music business. It can mean playing many gigs and having your CDs heard by the
right people who can help you. See what you think and don’t hesitate to contact me with your
questions.

There are few greater joys for me than writing about and listening to jazz. I update my website
regularly and have also included my biography below. Please check back often.

FOR THE MUSICIANS:
I write liner notes, press biographies, press releases, info for jazz websites, concert, festival and
club reviews, and am involved in many miscellaneous projects. I rarely go a day without writing
a few CD reviews and I love to receive CDs in the mail, in addition to job offers to write about
and publicize jazz and blues. I have also written over 550 liner notes for a variety of labels and
individual artists plus a countless number of press biographies. I co-produced a reissue series of
early jazz for Allegro Imports that resulted in 32 releases of classic pre-1950 jazz being made
available. In addition, I have written for several festival program guides.

Do not hesitate to contact me if you need writing help. Remember, if you want something done
fast and well, contact a busy person! And there is no point putting out CDs that no one gets to
hear.

MY BIOGRAPHY:
I have been a very busy jazz journalist/critic/ writer since I started in late 1975, covering
everything from New Orleans and 1920s jazz to swing, bebop, fusion, Afro-Cuban jazz, the
avant-garde and today's jazz and blues scene.

I knew early on that I wanted to be a jazz journalist, first hearing Dixieland in the Danny Kaye
movie The Five Pennies and on a daily radio show hosted by the late Benson Curtis while in
high school. I "discovered" swing when I ran across Chuck Cecil's Swinging Years on the radio.
When I first went to college, roommates thought I had a huge record collection when they saw
my 25 Lps, but were dismayed to find out that it was all dixieland and swing. One day at a used
record store, I ran across a $1.99 Charlie Parker LP that, among other songs, included "White
Christmas." I had never heard of "Groovin’ High" or "A Night In Tunisia" but at least I had
heard "White Christmas" somewhere! I played the album two or three times each day for a
week. It took about five days for my ears to be opened and then I became quite anxious to
learn about all eras of jazz. Within two months I was into John Coltrane's 1966 explorations
with Pharoah Sanders and Miles Davis' Live/Evil, quite a jump from Pete Fountain. My desire
to own and hear every jazz recording has still not been fully satisfied.

After I graduated college, rather than get a real job, I became the jazz editor for Record
Review, a now-legendary music magazine that lasted for 33 issues. That experience and its
publisher/founder/emperor Brian Ashley started me in the jazz writing business. Since then, I
have written for virtually all of the jazz magazines including Downbeat, Jazz Times, Jazziz,
Cadence, Coda, The Mississippi Rag, Jazz Forum, Jazz News, The Jazz Report, Planet Jazz,
Jazz Now and Jazz Improv.

My published books are: Jazz On Film, Duke Ellington, Swing, Bebop, Afro-Cuban Jazz,
Trumpet Kings, Classic Jazz, Jazz: A Regional Exploration, the recently released The Jazz
Singers and the giant Jazz On Record 1917-76. They are all available for purchase from www.
amazon.com and directly from me. Many other books are in the works, far too many. I still
don't want to get that real job.

A FEW THOUGHTS

I believe that there is no reason in the world that jazz cannot triple its audience and that jazz
musicians and singers cannot make a decent living.

If many more of us will just use our creativity, this will happen.

Jazz is not too "complicated" for the average person. It just needs to be heard as a regular
part of life, introduced in schools and marketed properly.

Jazz is not a forbidding "art form." It is for anyone who has ears and an open mind.

It is the most fun, creative and rewarding music in the world. Otherwise, why would we be
listening to and playing it?

FIVE FUN TIME MACHINE FANTASIES

If I had a time machine, here are five things I would love to do:

1) Visit New Orleans circa 1898 and find out what Buddy Bolden really sounded like.

2) Go to the Roseland Ballroom in 1927 and enjoy the legendary battle of the bands contest
in which the Jean Goldkette Orchestra (with Bix Beiderbecke) defeated the Fletcher
Henderson Big Band.

3) Enjoy a full performance by the 1943 Earl Hines Big Band, the first bebop orchestra and
one that never recorded or apparently broadcast on the radio. Its sidemen included Charlie
Parker and Dizzy Gillespie shortly before they changed jazz forever.

4) Attend the December Revolution concerts of 1964 which featured the top free jazz and
avant-garde jazz musicians in New York.

5) Spend 1935-47 living a block away from 52nd Street so I could enjoy the nightly jazz
performances by the major musicians of swing, dixieland and (by 1944) bop.

I hope you enjoy this website as it develops, come back often and drop me a line.

A NEW SERVICE!

I recently compiled a list of the 115 American radio stations that play jazz at least part of the
time. The Radio Station List includes the call letters, mailing address, E-mail, website address,
contact, phone number and a one-sentence summary of how much jazz the station plays.

Another list that is available has the names and addresses of many of the top jazz journalists. The
list is available for a fee to instrumentalists and singers who are putting out their own CDs and do
not have a hard-working publicist.. By knowing which writers and magazines to send your
releases to, you will increase the number of reviews and your visibility in the jazz world. Send me
an E-mail if you are interested in either the radio station or jazz writers list and want further
information on the costs and the contents. Also new is a list for songwriters of 65 singers who
have told me that they are looking for new material. If you are a composer, ask about this one.

THE LATEST BOOK

THE JAZZ SINGERS, my tenth book, is now out! It is published by Hal Leonard, and is
available everywhere including amazon.com. It features entries on the 521 top jazz singers of
all time, with fresh quotes from over 270 of the current vocalists. In addition, there is a
paragraph apiece on 198 other singers of today, short mentions of 55 often-surprising
performers who sang jazz at least on one or two occasions, and entries on 30 jazz vocal
groups.

It covers the historic figures but also quite a few current vocalists. See what you think!

Those wanting an autographed copy, can acquire a copy from me for $35 including postage if
it is sent to an American address, a little more if it is going to Canada or Europe. Though it
will be less expensive elsewhere, this is the only way to get an autographed copy. Send an
E-mail to scottyanowjazz@yahoo.com if you are interested.

RADIO INTERVIEW

I was recently interviewed by the fine singer Solitaire Miles for her Internet radio show. If
you'd like to hear me gab with her about various jazz-related topics, the show can be found at:
www.blogtalkradio.com/Solitaire-Mil es/2008/10/22/Tones

A few months ago I wrote the text to a rather unusual book. The talented Dutch
photographer Jaap van de Klomp traveled the world taking beautiful photos of the graves of
scores of jazz immortals. The large book that resulted, Jazz Lives - Till We Shall Meet And
Never Part, is a rather unusual masterpiece and not downbeat in the slightest. I had the honor
of writing the 180 or so biographies and, in addition to the photos of the graves, there is a
photo apiece of each musician and singer in his or her prime. Published in the Netherlands by
Bruna Uitgevers, this will not be an easy book to find and it is not inexpensive, but it is a gem.
Look for it on the Internet at www.JazzLives.nl

Should I count it as my 11th book? Probably not since this is the realization of a dream by
Jaap van de Klomp, but I am proud to be a part of it.

LINKS TO OTHER PAGES ON THIS SITE:

My recent Los Angeles Jazz Scene reviews and column (otherwise not available on the web)
are on this page which is updated regularly.

L.A. Jazz Scene

Bios And Liner Notes - examples of my work for artists.

Important Musicians and Singers to c heck out on the web , with links.

The Story Behind My Jazz Books

Biographies and Discographies for Playboy Jazz Festiva l Program Guide

Festival Reviews covering a variety of unique events.

The Bizarre Life of Jack Purvis -
from Trumpet Kings

For Musicians:My Favorite Publicists

A Freddie Hubbard Interview from 1979

Questions And Answers