Scott Yanow, Jazz Critic

Welcome to my website!

I'm a jazz journalist who loves all eras of jazz
and blues. I hope that you find my website
fun and informative. You will find jazz festival
reviews (Monterey, Playboy, Montreal, etc.)
and stories from a pair of IAJE conventions.
There are links to the Los Angeles Jazz Scene,
a paper that I write for monthly. I have written
ten books (so far!) and have included
information about each of them. See what you
think about some of my favorite jazz publicists,
musicians and singers.

I contribute regularly to Jazziz, Jazz Times (the
Archivist column), Coda, the Los Angeles Jazz
Scene and occasionally appear elsewhere. I
was the Senior Editor for the 3rd edition of the
All Music Guide For Jazz. I also write for the
Jazz Heritage Club, wrote the biographies in
the 2008 Playboy Jazz Festival program guide,
and am involved in many jazz projects both
large and small.

Please take a look at ‘My Biography’ section.
I have been writing about jazz for 33 years and
it has been said that I have reviewed more jazz
recordings than anyone in history.

If you are a musician, I have included a
‘Musicians’ section below that provides
information about how I can help you promote
yourself. Many times who you contact can be
the important key in opening the right doors for
your success in the music business. It can mean
playing many gigs and having your CDs heard
by the right people who can help you. See
what you think and don’t hesitate to contact
me with your questions.

There are few greater joys for me than writing
about and listening to jazz. I update my website
regularly and have also included my biography
below. Please check back often.

For the Musicians:
I write liner notes, press biographies, press
releases, info for jazz websites, concert, festival
and club reviews, and am involved in many
miscellaneous projects. I rarely go a day
without writing a few CD reviews and I love to
receive CDs in the mail, in addition to job
offers to write about and publicize jazz and
blues. I have also written over 550 liner notes
for a variety of labels and individual artists plus
a countless number of press biographies. I co-
produced a reissue series of early jazz for
Allegro Imports that resulted in 32 releases of
classic pre-1950 jazz being made available. In
addition, I have written for several festival
program guides.

Do not hesitate to contact me if you need
writing help. Remember, if you want something
done fast and well, contact a busy person! And
there is no point putting out CDs that no one
gets to hear.

My Biography:
I have been a very busy jazz journalist/critic/
writer since I started in late 1975, covering
everything from New Orleans and 1920s jazz
to swing, bebop, fusion, Afro-Cuban jazz, the
avant-garde and today's jazz and blues scene.

I knew early on that I wanted to be a jazz
journalist, first hearing Dixieland in the Danny
Kaye movie The Five Pennies and on a daily
radio show hosted by the late Benson Curtis
while in high school. I "discovered" swing when
I ran across Chuck Cecil's Swinging Years on
the radio. When I first went to college,
roommates thought I had a huge record
collection when they saw my 25 Lps, but were
dismayed to find out that it was all dixieland
and swing. One day at a used record store, I
ran across a $1.99 Charlie Parker LP that,
among other songs, included "White
Christmas." I had never heard of "Groovin’
High" or "A Night In Tunisia" but at least I had
heard "White Christmas" somewhere! I played
the album two or three times each day for a
week. It took about five days for my ears to be
opened and then I became quite anxious to
learn about all eras of jazz. Within two months
I was into John Coltrane's 1966 explorations
with Pharoah Sanders and Miles Davis'
Live/Evil, quite a jump from Pete Fountain. My
desire to own and hear every jazz recording
has still not been fully satisfied.

After I graduated college, rather than get a real
job, I became the jazz editor for Record
Review, a now-legendary music magazine that
lasted for 33 issues. That experience and its
publisher/founder/emperor Brian Ashley
started me in the jazz writing business. Since
then, I have written for virtually all of the jazz
magazines including Downbeat, Jazz Times,
Jazziz, Cadence, Coda, The Mississippi Rag,
Jazz Forum, Jazz News, The Jazz Report,
Planet Jazz, Jazz Now and Jazz Improv.

My published books are: Jazz On Film, Duke
Ellington, Swing, Bebop, Afro-Cuban Jazz,
Trumpet Kings, Classic Jazz, Jazz: A Regional
Exploration, the upcoming The Jazz Singers
and the giant Jazz On Record 1917-76. They
are all available for purchase from www.
amazon.com and directly from me. Many
other books are in the works, far too many. I
still don't want to get that real job.

A FEW THOUGHTS

I believe that there is no reason in the
world that jazz cannot triple its
audience and that jazz musicians and
singers cannot make a decent living.

If many more of us will just use our
creativity, this will happen.

Jazz is not too "complicated" for the
average person. It just needs to be
heard as a regular part of life,
introduced in schools and marketed
properly.

Jazz is not a forbidding "art form." It is
for anyone who has ears and an open
mind.

It is the most fun, creative and
rewarding music in the world.
Otherwise, why would we be listening
to and playing it?

Why isn't jazz more popular? Here are
a few basic reasons:

1) Jazz clubs got rid of dance floors in
the late 1940s. Even though 80% of
jazz can be danced to, when there is
no dance floor and when dancing is
looked down upon, lots of potential
fans go elsewhere. Why do you think
that swing, dixieland, Latin jazz and
funky-oriented jazz are among the
most popular styles? Because people
are allowed to dance to it. Why not
have jazz dance clubs where although
the playing is kept in 4/4, the music is
not watered down in the slightest?

2) Jazz is not taught in grammar
schools except in rare cases. Every
third and seventh grade class should
have a Jazz Appreciation course. If
kids never get to hear jazz, how are
they supposed to grow up loving it?
College is too late.

3) Jazz is not seen on the Grammy
Awards telecast except in an
embarrassing and token way. The way
it is treated is a disgrace. I cringe every
time I hear "Grammy-award winning
artist." Artistically, that means nothing,
unless you really believe that the best
vocal album of 2007 was by Nancy
Wilson. Boycott and picket the
Grammies! And let's do something
about the "American Music Awards"
which does not even acknowledge jazz.

4) Let's drop the elitist attitude that jazz
is "too good for the average person."
The average person rarely gets to hear
jazz because the jazz world does a
lousy job of marketing itself. Isn't it
about time we reach out to the rest of
the world, without compromising or
watering down the music?

Some other thoughts:

Jazz is not "America's only true art
form." That mindless cliche needs to be
buried. Blues, ragtime, tap dancing and
movies are American art forms. And
jazz no longer belongs exclusively to
the United States, nor has it since
Django Reinhardt made his first record.

When someone talks about the "good
old days of jazz" or jazz's "golden age,"
retort by saying that jazz entered its
golden age in 1917 (when it started to
be recorded) and it hasn't ended since.
Here is to the 92nd year of jazz's
golden age!

I hope you enjoy this website as it
develops, come back often and drop
me a line.

THE LATEST NEWS

I recently wrote the text to a rather
unusual book. The talented Dutch
photographer Jaap van de Klomp
traveled the world taking beautiful
photos of the graves of scores of jazz
immortals. The large book that resulted,
Jazz Lives - Till We Shall Meet And
Never Part, is a rather unusual
masterpiece and not downbeat in the
slightest. I had the honor of writing the
180 or so biographies and, in addition
to the photos of the graves, there is a
photo apiece of each musician and
singer in his or her prime. Published in
the Netherlands by Bruna Uitgevers, this
will not be an easy book to find and it is
not inexpensive, but it is a gem. Look
for it on the Internet.

Should I count it as my 11th book?
Probably not since this is the realization
of a dream by Jaap van de Klomp, but I
am proud to be a part of it.

I also recently completed my 10th book:
THE JAZZ SINGERS.

It will be published by Hal Leonard,
scheduled for next October. It includes
entries on the 521 top jazz singers of all
time, with fresh quotes from over 300
current vocalists, plus other features and
mentions of 200 other singers. It is not a
small book!

I will definitely tell the world when it is
finally released. Advance orders of the
book are being taken by me for those
who wish to have it autographed. I'm
selling it for $35 (counting postage) for
those in the United States and a bit
more for Canada and European
addresses. Send an E-mail to
scottyanowjazz@yahoo.com if you are
interested.

Links To Other Pages On This Site:

My recent Los Angeles Jazz Scene
reviews and column (otherwise not
available on the web) are on this page
which is updated regularly. Recently I
added the reviews from the August issue:
L.A. Jazz Scene

Bios And Liner Notes - examples of my
work for artists.

Important Musicians and Singers to
c heck out on the web , with links.

The Story Behind My Jazz Books

Festival Reviews covering a variety of
unique events.

The Bizarre Life of Jack Purvis -
from Trumpet Kings

For Musicians:
My Favorite Publicists

Questions And Answers

The Top 10 Things To Do During
Bass Solos
(by Scott Yanow and Dory Green)

Admit it. Most bass solos are about as
exciting as hearing a banjo rambling on in
a dixieland band, as fascinating as listening
to an insurance agent explaining different
policies, and as pleasurable as hearing an
electric drill as a dentist tunes up his
instruments in preparation for your next
root canal. It may be necessary for
bassists to strut their stuff, particularly
after they play 183 choruses on an up
tempo blues, but does anyone really want
to sit through it?

So, to make the best use of time, here are
the top ten suggested activities that can be
done during bass solos:

10)   Listen to the saxophonist on stage
trying out a new box of reeds.

9)     Stand up and loudly recite the
Gettysburg Address to those around you.

8)      Use the opportunity to tune the
piano.

7)     .Get into a heated debate over
which singer had the best voice: Chet
Baker or Bob Dylan.

6)      Steal the drummer’s drum stick and
stab yourself repeatedly.

5)      Watch the club owner proudly
demonstrating his new blender.

4)      Argue passionately with the waiter
about the bill.

3)       Have a fire drill

2)       Read War And Peace

And the #1 suggested activity to do
during a bass solo:

1)       Run out into the street and
SCREAM.