Kevin Whitehead
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Kevin Francis Whitehead (born April 27, 1952) 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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
critic and author.


Biography

Born in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, Whitehead studied at Oswego State University in New York, then earned a Masters in American Literature and Culture at
Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...
. 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 Roberta Joan Mitchell (née Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitch ...
's '' Mingus''. Since the end of the 1970s, Whitehead has been writing regularly on jazz, including for the
NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
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, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The show's hosts are Terry Gross and Tonya Mosl ...
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 NP ...
since 1987, as well as for newspapers and magazines such as ''
JazzTimes ''JazzTimes'' was an American print 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 ...
'', ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...
'', ''
Chicago Reader The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. The ''Reader'' has been ...
'', ''
Down Beat ''DownBeat'' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm that it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1 ...
'', ''
Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Ma ...
'', and the ''
Volkskrant ''De Volkskrant'' (; ), stylized as de Volkskrant, 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- ...
''. 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 cassette j-cards. Origin Liner notes are descended from the prog ...
for albums, including recordings by
Ab Baars Ab Baars (born November 21, 1955, in Axel, Netherlands) is a Dutch saxophonist and clarinetist who has had an active performance career since the 1970s. He has recorded several albums for the Geestgronden Records, Atavistic Records, and WIG rec ...
, Sylvie Courvoisier, Charles Gayle, 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, Myra Melford (''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 figu ...
,
Pharoah Sanders Pharoah Sanders (born Ferrell Lee Sanders; October 13, 1940 – September 24, 2022) was an American jazz saxophonist. Known for his overblowing, harmonic, and multiphonic techniques on the saxophone, as well as his use of "sheets of sound", San ...
, Daniel Schnyder, Aki Takase, the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble, Clusone 3, and the
ICP Orchestra Instant Composers Pool (ICP) is an independent Dutch jazz and improvised music record label, label and orchestra. Founded in 1967, the label takes its name from the concept that improvisation is "instant composition". The ICP label has publishe ...
. 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, United States. Founded in 1866 as Maryland's first training school for teachers, Towson University is a part of the University System of Maryland. Since its foundin ...
,
University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...
, and
Goucher College Goucher College ( ') is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Towson, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1885 as a Nonsectarian, nonsecterian Women's colleges in the United States, ...
. As an improvisational musician, Whitehead played in the
free jazz Free jazz, or free form in the early to mid-1970s, is a style of avant-garde jazz or an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventi ...
group Starship Beer, as well as appearing at New York's Knitting Factory, Chicago's Empty Bottle 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: ''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 Jazz musicians from New York City 1952 births Living people