Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...
–winning American journalist, radio host, music critic, and author. In 2015, he received the
Jazz Journalists Association The Jazz Journalists Association (JJA) is an international organization of all types of media professionals who document, promulgate, or appreciate jazz. As of 2016, it has approximately 250 members, including professional journalists, students, ind ...
's Lifetime Achievement Award in Jazz Journalism.
Biography
Born in New York, Tesser grew up on Long Island. He attended
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world.
Charte ...
in
Evanston, Illinois
Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, ...
, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in journalism. Tesser resides in Chicago.
Career
Tesser's career has spanned over five decades, and has included work as a journalist, music critic, radio host and author.
Tesser was a long-time jazz critic at the Chicago Reader, beginning his work there in the 1970s. Earlier in his career he wrote Reader's ''Hot Type'' column, covering sports among other topics. As a radio host, Tesser has hosted the nationally syndicated programs ''Miles Ahead'' and ''Listen Here!'', as well as Chicago-based jazz shows on WNIB,
WBEZ
WBEZ (91.5 FM) – branded ''WBEZ 91.5'' – is a non-commercial educational radio station licensed to serve Chicago, Illinois, and primarily serving the Chicago metropolitan area. Financed by corporate underwriting, government funding and lis ...
,
WSBC
WSBC (1240 AM) is a radio station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, which broadcasts brokered programming. It is owned by Newsweb Corporation.
History
WSBC began broadcasting in 1925 and originally broadcast at 1430 kHz.WCFJ.
As an author, Tesser wrote ''The Playboy Guide to Jazz,'' published in 1998 by Plume. He has composed liner notes for nearly 550 albums, which have garnered him one
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...
and another nomination. Artists for whom Tesser has written liner notes include
Blood, Sweat & Tears
Blood, Sweat & Tears (also known as "BS&T") is a jazz rock music group founded in New York City in 1967, noted for a combination of brass with rock instrumentation. In addition to original music, the group has performed popular songs by Laura N ...
,
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music.
Born and raise ...
Kurt Elling
Kurt Elling (born November 2, 1967) is an American jazz singer and songwriter.
Born in Chicago, Illinois, and raised in Rockford, Elling became interested in music through his father, who was Kapellmeister at a Lutheran church. He sang in cho ...
Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", ...
Patricia Barber
Patricia Barber (born November 8, 1955) is an American songwriter, composer, singer, and pianist.
Biography
Barber's father Floyd was a jazz saxophonist who played with Bud Freeman and Glenn Miller. She played saxophone and piano from a young ...
.
Tesser is a member of
The Recording Academy
The Recording Academy (formally the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences; abbreviated NARAS) is an American learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is famous for its Grammy A ...
, formerly serving as vice chair of the board of trustees.
Awards and nominations
Tesser received a
Grammy Award for Best Album Notes
The Grammy Award – Best Album Notes has been presented since 1964. From 1973 to 1976 (the 15th through 18th Awards), a second award was presented for Best Album Notes – Classical. Those awards are listed under those years below. The award recog ...
at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards for his liner notes to ''Afro Blue Impressions (Remastered and Expanded)'' by
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music.
Born and raise ...
. He was nominated for a Grammy in 1986 for his liner notes to Stan Getz's ''The Girl from Ipanema: The Bossa Nova Years''.
On June 16, 2015, Tesser was awarded the
Jazz Journalists Association The Jazz Journalists Association (JJA) is an international organization of all types of media professionals who document, promulgate, or appreciate jazz. As of 2016, it has approximately 250 members, including professional journalists, students, ind ...
's (JJA) Lifetime Achievement Award in Jazz Journalism. In addition, Tesser received the first JJA award for Excellence in Broadcasting.
He was also a recipient of an ASCAP Deems Taylor Award for his work with Rhino Records.