Martin Tudor Hansford Williams (9 August 1924 – 11 or 12 April 1992) was an American jazz critic and writer.

Education and service in the armed forces

Williams was born in

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

. He attended St. Christopher Episcopal Preparatory School, then entered the U.S. Army 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 ...

. After his military service during

, which included combat in the

battle of Iwo Jima The was a major battle in which the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and United States Navy (USN) landed on and eventually captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) during World War II. The American invasion, desi ...

, Williams first studied law, then literature at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

( BA 1948), at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

( MA 1950) and at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

Career

Williams, beginning in the early 1950s, became a prolific jazz critic, contributing articles to '' The Saturday Review,'' ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

,'' ''

Harper's Magazine ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the United States. ''Harper's Magazine'' has ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', and '' The Jazz Review'', which he founded in November 1958 with

Nat Hentoff Nathan Irving Hentoff (June 10, 1925 – January 7, 2017) was an American historian, novelist, jazz and country music critic, and syndicated columnist for United Media. Hentoff was a columnist for ''The Village Voice'' from 1958 to 2009. F ...

, which often featured contributions by jazz musicians, including

Gunther Schuller Gunther Alexander Schuller (November 22, 1925June 21, 2015) was an American composer, conductor, horn player, author, historian, educator, publisher, and jazz musician. Biography and works Early years Schuller was born in Queens, New York City ...

, Dick Katz, and

Cecil Taylor Cecil Percival Taylor (March 25, 1929April 5, 2018) was an American pianist and poet. Taylor was classically trained and was one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an energetic, physical approach, resulting in comple ...

. '' The Jazz Review'' also featured contributions by other notable people, including Sheldon Mayer and Dan Morgenstern. Williams authored many books on jazz, a collection of sixteen essays, profiling jazz musicians, in a book titled ''The Jazz Tradition.'' From 1971 to 1981 Williams headed the jazz and "American Culture Program" at 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 ...

in Washington D.C., where, in 1973, he compiled and wrote liner notes for '' The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz.'' In 1983, he,

, and the Smithsonian — in collaboration with

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

— produced ''Big Band Jazz''. With animation historian Michael Barrier, Williams co-edited ''A Smithsonian Book of Comic-Book Comics'' (1982).

References

External links

Guide to the Martin Williams Collection
Center for Black Music Research, Columbia College Chicago 1924 births 1992 deaths American music critics Grammy Award winners Jazz writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers St. Christopher's School (Richmond, Virginia) alumni United States Army personnel of World War II University of Virginia alumni University of Pennsylvania alumni Columbia University alumni 20th-century American journalists {{US-journalist-1920s-stub