Kevin Francis Whitehead (born April 27, 1952 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

) is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

critic and author.

Biography

Whitehead studied at Oswego State University in New York, then earned a Masters in American Literature and Culture at Syracuse University. He began writing in the early 1970s for the short-lived magazine '' Oswego County Times''. In 1979, he wrote his first record review, for Joni Mitchell's ''

Mingus The name Mingus may refer to: * Charles Mingus (1922–1979), jazz composer and double bass player ** Sue Mingus, wife of the jazz composer ** ''Mingus'' (Charles Mingus album), 1961 album by Charles Mingus ** ''Mingus'' (Joni Mitchell album) ...

''. Since the end of the 1970s, Whitehead has been writing regularly on jazz, including for the

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

program

Fresh Air ''Fresh Air'' is an American radio talk show broadcast on National Public Radio stations across the United States since 1985. It is produced by WHYY-FM in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The show's host is Terry Gross. , the show was syndicated to ...

with

Terry Gross Terry Gross (born February 14, 1951) is an American journalist who is the host and co-executive producer of '' Fresh Air'', an interview-based radio show produced by WHYY-FM in Philadelphia and distributed nationally by NPR. Since joining N ...

since 1987, as well as for newspapers and magazines such as ''

JazzTimes ''JazzTimes'' is an American magazine devoted to jazz. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1970 by Ira Sabin as the newsletter ''Radio Free Jazz'' to complement his record store. Coverage After a decade of growt ...

'', ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago ...

'', '' Chicago Reader'', '' Down Beat'', ''

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...

'', and the ''

Volkskrant ''de Volkskrant'' (; ''The People's Paper'') is a Dutch daily morning newspaper. Founded in 1919, it has a nationwide circulation of about 250,000. Formerly a leading centre-left Catholic broadsheet, ''de Volkskrant'' today is a medium-sized ...

''. He lived in the Netherlands in the late 1990s. Whitehead wrote the books ''New Dutch Swing'' (1998) and ''Why Jazz: A Concise Guide'' (2010) and (with the photographer Ton Mijs) ''Instant Composers Pool Orchestra: You Have to See It'' (2011). He is also editor of ''Bimhuis 25: Stories of Twenty-Five Years at the Bimhuis''. His works have appeared in anthologies such as ''Jazz: The First Century'', ''The Gramophone Jazz Good CD Guide'', ''Mixtery: a Commemorative for Anthony Braxton'', ''Da Capo's Best Music Writing 2006'' and ''Traveling the Spaceways: Sun Ra , the Astro Black and other Solar Myths''. Whitehead has also written

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desc ...

for albums, including recordings by Ab Baars,

Sylvie Courvoisier Sylvie Courvoisier (born 30 November 1968) is a composer, pianist and improviser. Career Courvoisier, originally from Lausanne, Switzerland, has lived in Brooklyn, New York for years. She has led several groups over the years, recorded 10 albu ...

Charles Gayle Charles Gayle (born February 28, 1939) is an American free jazz musician. Initially known as a saxophonist who came to prominence in the 1990s after decades of obscurity, Gayle also performs as pianist, bass clarinetist, bassist, and percussioni ...

, François Houle, Phillip Johnston,

Sheila Jordan Sheila Jordan (born Sheila Jeanette Dawson; November 18, 1928) is an American jazz singer and songwriter. She has recorded as a session musician with an array of critically acclaimed artists in addition to recording her own albums. Jordan pionee ...

Henry Threadgill Henry Threadgill (born February 15, 1944) is an American composer, saxophonist and flautist. He came to prominence in the 1970s leading ensembles rooted in jazz but with unusual instrumentation and often incorporating other genres of music. He h ...

Myra Melford Myra Melford (born January 5, 1957) is an American avant-garde jazz pianist and composer. A 2013 Guggenheim Fellow, Melford was described by the ''San Francisco Chronicle'' as an "explosive player, a virtuoso who shocks and soothes, and who can m ...

(''Michael Moore'', 1993), Simon Nabatov /

Han Bennink Han Bennink (born 17 April 1942) is a Dutch drummer and percussionist. On occasion his recordings have featured him playing soprano saxophone, bass clarinet, trombone, violin, banjo and piano. Though perhaps best known as one of the pivotal fig ...

, Pharoah Sanders, Daniel Schnyder,

Aki Takase (born January 26, 1948) is a Japanese jazz pianist and composer. Biography Takase was born in Osaka and started to play piano at age 3. Raised in Tokyo, she studied classical piano at Toho Gakuen School of Music.Ankeny, Jaso"Artist Biography".A ...

, the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble, Clusone 3, and the

ICP Orchestra Instant Composers Pool (ICP) is an independent Dutch jazz and improvised music label and orchestra. Founded in 1967, the label takes its name from the notion that improvisation is "instant composition". The ICP label has published more than 50 r ...

. In 2012 he was nominated for the JJA Award of the Jazz Journalists Association for his liner notes of the Sam Rivers album ''Trilogy'' (Mosaic Select). He also taught jazz literature at

Towson University Towson University (TU or Towson) is a public university in Towson, Maryland. Founded in 1866 as Maryland's first training school for teachers, Towson University is a part of the University System of Maryland. Since its founding, the university h ...

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. T ...

, and

Goucher College Goucher College ( ') is a private liberal arts college in Towson, Maryland. It was chartered in 1885 by a conference in Baltimore led by namesake John F. Goucher and local leaders of the Methodist Episcopal Church.https://archive.org/details/h ...

. As an improvisational musician, Whitehead played in the

free jazz Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians duri ...

group Starship Beer, as well as appearing at New York's Knitting Factory, Chicago's

Empty Bottle The Empty Bottle is a bar and music venue located at 1035 N. Western Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. Located on the west side of Chicago's Ukrainian Village neighborhood, the venue primarily hosts local, regional, and touring alternative music act ...

and HotHouse, and the Amsterdam Zaal 100. He lives near Baltimore.

Publications

* ''New Dutch Swing: An in-depth examination of Amsterdam's vital and distinctive jazz scene''. Billboard Books, New York 1998, . * Kevin Whitehead, Herman te Loo,

John Corbett John Joseph Corbett Jr. (born May 9, 1961) is an American actor and country music singer. On television, he is best known for his roles as Chris Stevens on ''Northern Exposure'' (1990–1995), Aidan Shaw on ''Sex and the City'' (2000–2003), ...

: ''Bimhuis 25. Stories of twenty five years at the Bimhuis.'' Bimhuis, Amsterdam 1999, . * ''Why Jazz?: A Concise Guide.'' Oxford University Press, 2011, .

References

External links

Kevin Whitehead at NPR
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitehead, Kevin American music critics Musicians from New York City 1952 births Living people