Herbert H. Wong (March 18, 1926 – April 20, 2014) was 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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
enthusiast, educator, writer, producer,
disc jockey
A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music fes ...
and
zoologist
Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...
.
Wong became interested in jazz music as a child and had his first experience broadcasting while serving in the armed forces. He trained as an educator and zoologist and worked in schools throughout his career. Wong promoted jazz in various ways including writing about jazz, teaching jazz history courses, designing jazz education curriculums, arranging jazz concerts in schools and hosting a radio show for over three decades. In the 1980s, Wong produced music for the
Palo Alto
Palo Alto ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a charter city in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto.
Th ...
and Blackhawk records labels. Such was his reputation,
Woody Herman
Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was 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. Its roo ...
and
Cal Tjader
Callen Radcliffe Tjader Jr. ( ; July 16, 1925 – May 5, 1982) was an American Latin Jazz musician, often described as the most successful non-Latino Latin music (genre), Latin musician. He explored other jazz idioms, especially small group mod ...
, amongst others, composed songs dedicated to him.
Life
Early life and education
Wong was born in
Oakland, California
Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...
, in 1926 and grew up in
Stockton.
In an interview for the
Regional Oral History Office, Wong explained that he was a fourth-generation Californian from a
Chinese-American
Chinese Americans are Americans of Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans have ancestors from mainland China, Hong Kong ...
family that included his uncle, architect Worley K. Wong.
At age six, Wong began studying classical piano.
He was first exposed to jazz music around aged 11 when he and his brother found a delivery of jazz albums, including recordings by
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life.
Born and raised in Washington, D ...
and
Woody Herman
Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was 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. Its roo ...
, in their home that was meant for the previous residents.
Wong would often travel to nearby cities to attend jazz concerts.
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Wong served with the army which included experience as a disc jockey on the
Armed Forces Radio Service in
Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
.
After leaving the army, he studied for undergraduate and doctoral degrees in
zoology
Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...
, specialising in
ornithology
Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...
, at
UC Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...
as well as a master's degree in science education at
San José State University.
In an interview, he said he once postponed a final examination because it clashed with a Woody Herman concert he was planning to attend.
Wong was a field ornithologist and lectured at UC Berkeley before going on to be a teacher and faculty at several schools including Washington Elementary School in Berkeley and
Palo Alto High School
Palo Alto Senior High School (commonly referred to locally as "Paly") is a comprehensive public high school in Palo Alto, California. Operated by the Palo Alto Unified School District, the school is one of two high schools in the district, the ...
.
Career
Wong began presenting a jazz show, "Jazz Perspectives", on
KJAZ in 1959 and hosted the show for 36 years until 1996.
He was a prolific writer of album
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 cassette j-cards.
Origin
Liner notes are descended from the prog ...
and over his career wrote the notes for over 600 albums.
For 25 years, Wong taught jazz history at the Palo Alto Adult School and was the artistic director and co-founder of the Palo Alto Jazz Alliance, a not-for-profit jazz education group.
He also created an oral jazz history for the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...
, initiated a jazz curriculum for
Berkeley elementary schools and co-authored children's science books.
Wong arranged for acts such as
Oscar Peterson
Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. As a virtuoso who is considered to be one of the greatest Jazz piano, jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordin ...
,
Phil Woods
Philip Wells Woods (November 2, 1931 – September 29, 2015) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader, and composer.
Biography
Woods was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. After inheriting a saxophone at age 12, he began t ...
,
Roland Kirk and
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life.
Born and raised in Washington, D ...
, whom Wong had to pay himself, to perform for students in Berkeley classrooms. Saxophonist
Joshua Redman and trumpeter
Steven Bernstein credit Wong's educational programs in Berkeley schools with greatly influencing them.
Wong was president and artistic director of
Palo Alto Records from early 1981 until 1985.
He also founded Blackhawk Records and produced several albums for both labels.
Wong counselled young Asian musicians and encouraged their creativity. He stated he was "an antagonist to stereotypes."
Later in his career, Wong organised a jazz concert series at
Stanford Shopping Center and was president of the International Association of Jazz Education. He received the Palo Alto Excellence Award in Jazz Education in 2013.
Death and legacy
Wong died at home in
Menlo Park following prolonged cancer-related health problems on April 20, 2014, aged 88.
He was survived by his wife Marilyn, two daughters and four grandchildren.
A collection of Wong's liner notes and jazz journalism, titled ''Jazz on My Mind'', was published in 2016.
He began working on the book, with assistance from co-author Paul Simeon Fingerote, following his cancer diagnosis.
Seven jazz compositions were written about Wong, including:
* Woody Herman's "Dr. Wong's Bag";
*
Cal Tjader's "Daddy Wong Legs";
*
Larry Vuckovich's "Herb's Herbs"; and
*
Dayna Stephens's "Dr. Wong's Bird Song".
Works
* ''Jazz on My Mind: Liner Notes, Anecdotes and Conversations from the 1940s to the 2000s'', with Paul Simeon Fingerote (2016, McFarland & Co Inc.; )
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wong, Herb
1926 births
2014 deaths
American writers of Chinese descent
American educators of Asian descent
20th-century American male writers
American music journalists
Writers from Oakland, California
Writers from the San Francisco Bay Area
Military personnel from California
American radio hosts
San Jose State University alumni
21st-century American zoologists
20th-century American zoologists