Mike Hennessey (25 February 1928 – 16 August 2017) was an English music journalist and

jazz pianist Jazz piano is a collective term for the techniques pianists use when playing jazz. The piano has been an integral part of the jazz idiom since its inception, in both solo and ensemble settings. Its role is multifaceted due largely to the Musical ...

. Born in London as the third of four children, Hennessey, who came from a musical family, began learning piano at the age of six. After his military service, he began working as a journalist. He wrote for jazz magazines in Europe and North America and worked for 27 years as a correspondent and international editor for the US magazine ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'', before retiring in 1994. He specialised in international copyright and intellectual property, and advocated strengthening of copyright protection for the music industry. He co-founded ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'' and ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later m ...

'' and wrote biographies of jazz musicians

Kenny Clarke Kenneth Clarke Spearman (January 9, 1914January 26, 1985), known professionally as Kenny Clarke and nicknamed Klook, was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. A major innovator of the bebop style of drumming, he pioneered the use of the ride ...

and

Johnny Griffin John Arnold Griffin III (April 24, 1928 – July 25, 2008) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Nicknamed "the Little Giant" for his short stature and forceful playing, Griffin's career began in the mid-1940s and continued until the month of ...

. As a pianist he was a member of Chas Burchell's band, with which he recorded two albums. He also joined the Paris Reunion band with

Nat Adderley Nathaniel Carlyle Adderley (November 25, 1931 – January 2, 2000) 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. It ...

, toured with Adderley,

Billy Mitchell William Lendrum Mitchell (December 29, 1879 – February 19, 1936) was a United States Army officer who had a major role in the creation of the United States Air Force. Mitchell served in France during World War I and, by the conflict's end, ...

Arthur Blythe Arthur Murray Blythe (July 5, 1940 – March 27, 2017) was an American jazz alto saxophonist and composer. He was described by critic Chris Kelsey as displaying "one of the most easily recognizable alto sax sounds in jazz, big and round, with a ...

Benny Golson Benny Golson (January 25, 1929 – September 21, 2024) was an American bebop and hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He came to prominence with the big bands of Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie, more as a writer than a p ...

Keter Betts William Thomas "Keter" Betts (July 22, 1928 – August 6, 2005) was an American jazz double bassist. Early life and education Born in Port Chester, New York, he was nicknamed "Keter", a short form of the word mosquito. He graduated from Port C ...

Jimmy Cobb Wilbur James "Jimmy" Cobb (January 20, 1929May 24, 2020) was an American jazz drummer. He was part of Miles Davis's First Great Sextet. He was awarded an NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship in 2009. Early life Cobb was born in Washington, D.C., on J ...

, and Jan Harrington, and worked as an accompanist for

Buddy DeFranco Boniface Ferdinand Leonard "Buddy" DeFranco (February 17, 1923 – December 24, 2014) was an American jazz clarinetist. In addition to his work as a bandleader, DeFranco led the Glenn Miller Orchestra for almost a decade in the 1960s and 1970s. ...

, Nathan Davis,

Duško Gojković Duško Gojković ( sr-Cyrl, Душко Гојковић; 14 October 1931 – 5 April 2023) was a Serbian jazz trumpeter, composer, and arranger. Biography Gojković was born on 14 October 1931, in Jajce, Bosnia and Herzegovina, at the time part ...

, and

Ronnie Scott Ronnie Scott Order of the British Empire, OBE (born Ronald Schatt; 28 January 1927 – 23 December 1996) was a British jazz Tenor saxophone, tenor saxophonist and jazz club owner. He co-founded Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London's Soho district ...

. He moved to Germany and lived in Durchhausen from 1998 until his death in 2017 after a brief illness. He was married to the German concert agent Gaby Kleinschmidt.

Publications

* * * *

Discography

* ''Shades of Chas Burchell'' (In+Out, 1993) * ''Unsung Hero: The Undiscovered Genius of Chas Burchell'' (In+Out, 1995)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hennessey, Mike English music journalists Jazz writers English biographers English magazine editors English jazz pianists Musicians from London English expatriates in Germany 1928 births 2017 deaths