Leonard Feather
Encyclopedia
Leonard Geoffrey Feather (13 September 1914 22 September 1994) was a British
-born jazz
pianist
, composer
, and producer
who was best known for his music journalism
and other writing.
into a strictly conformist upper middle-class Jewish family. He learned to play the piano and clarinet without formal training and started writing about jazz and film
by his late teens. At age of twenty-one, Feather made his first visit to the United States
, and after working in the U.K. and the U.S. as a record producer finally settled in New York City
in 1939, where he lived until moving to Los Angeles
in 1960. Feather was co-editor of the Metronome magazine
and served as chief jazz
critic
for the Los Angeles Times
until his death. He died in Sherman Oaks, California
at age eighty.
Feather's compositions have been widely recorded, including "Evil Gal Blues" and "Blowtop Blues" by Dinah Washington
, and what is possibly his biggest hit, "How Blue Can You Get?
" by blues artists Louis Jordan
and B. B. King
, and some of his own recordings as a bandleader are still available. But it was as a writer on jazz (as a journalist, critic, historian, and campaigner) that he made his biggest mark: "Feather was for a long time the most widely read and most influential writer on jazz." Even jazz enthusiasts who didn't read his books and articles would have known him from the liner notes that he wrote for hundreds of jazz album
s.
He wrote the lyrics to the jazz song "Whisper Not" which was then recorded by Ella Fitzgerald
on her 1966 Verve
release of the same name.
He is the father of lyricist/songwriter Lorraine Feather
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
-born jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
pianist
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, and producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
who was best known for his music journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
and other writing.
Biography
Feather was born in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
into a strictly conformist upper middle-class Jewish family. He learned to play the piano and clarinet without formal training and started writing about jazz and film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
by his late teens. At age of twenty-one, Feather made his first visit to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and after working in the U.K. and the U.S. as a record producer finally settled in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1939, where he lived until moving to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
in 1960. Feather was co-editor of the Metronome magazine
Metronome magazine
Metronome Magazine was a music-guide magazine published from the 1881 until 1961.The magazine in its early years catered for musicians in marching and then dance bands, but from the swing era, Metronome focused primarily on the genre of Jazz music appealing to fans...
and served as chief jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
critic
Critic
A critic is anyone who expresses a value judgement. Informally, criticism is a common aspect of all human expression and need not necessarily imply skilled or accurate expressions of judgement. Critical judgements, good or bad, may be positive , negative , or balanced...
for the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
until his death. He died in Sherman Oaks, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
at age eighty.
Feather's compositions have been widely recorded, including "Evil Gal Blues" and "Blowtop Blues" by Dinah Washington
Dinah Washington
Dinah Washington, born Ruth Lee Jones , was an American blues, R&B and jazz singer. She has been cited as "the most popular black female recording artist of the '50s", and called "The Queen of the Blues"...
, and what is possibly his biggest hit, "How Blue Can You Get?
How Blue Can You Get
"How Blue Can You Get" is a song that is a classic of the blues. A slow twelve-bar blues, the song is credited to jazz critic Leonard Feather and his wife, Jane Feather. It has been recorded by several blues and other artists; in 1964, it was a hit for B.B...
" by blues artists Louis Jordan
Louis Jordan
Louis Thomas Jordan was a pioneering American jazz, blues and rhythm & blues musician, songwriter and bandleader who enjoyed his greatest popularity from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as "The King of the Jukebox", Jordan was highly popular with both black and white audiences in the...
and B. B. King
B. B. King
Riley B. King , known by the stage name B.B. King, is an American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter.Rolling Stone magazine ranked him at No.3 on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. According to Edward M...
, and some of his own recordings as a bandleader are still available. But it was as a writer on jazz (as a journalist, critic, historian, and campaigner) that he made his biggest mark: "Feather was for a long time the most widely read and most influential writer on jazz." Even jazz enthusiasts who didn't read his books and articles would have known him from the liner notes that he wrote for hundreds of jazz album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s.
He wrote the lyrics to the jazz song "Whisper Not" which was then recorded by Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
on her 1966 Verve
Verve Records
Verve Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded by Norman Granz in 1956, absorbing the catalogues of his earlier labels, Clef Records and Norgran Records , and material which had been licensed to Mercury previously.-Jazz and folk origins:The Verve...
release of the same name.
He is the father of lyricist/songwriter Lorraine Feather
Lorraine Feather
-History:Lorraine Feather was born in Manhattan. Her father was jazz writer Leonard Feather; her mother Jane was a former big band singer and ex-roommate of singer Peggy Lee...
.
Partial bibliography
- 1956: The Encyclopedia Yearbook of Jazz (Horizon)
- 1993 reprint (Da Capo) ISBN 0-306-80529-4
- 1963: Laughter from the Hip co-written with Jack TracyJack TracyJack Tracy was an American jazz producer and journalist.- Early years :...
(Da Capo) ISBN 978-0306800924 - 1966: The Encyclopedia of Jazz in the Sixties
- 1977: Inside Jazz (Da Capo) ISBN 0-306-80076-4
- 1977: Pleasures of Jazz (Delacorte) ISBN 0-385-28786-0
- 1987: From Satchmo to Miles (Da Capo) ISBN 1-4176-1892-2
- 1987: Encyclopedic Yearbook of Jazz reprint (Da Capo) ISBN 0-306-76289-7
- 1987: The Jazz Years — Earwitness to an Era (Da Capo)
- 1988: Book of Jazz (Horizon) ISBN 0-8180-1202-1
- 1999: The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz co-written with Ira GitlerIra GitlerIra Gitler is an American jazz historian and journalist. Perhaps best known for The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz written with Leonard Feather—the most recent edition appeared in 1999—he has written hundreds of liner notes for jazz recordings since the early 1950s and is the author of dozens...
, second (revised) edition (Oxford University Press) ISBN 0-19-507418-1 - 2000: Oxford Dictionary of National BiographyDictionary of National BiographyThe Dictionary of National Biography is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published from 1885...
Discography
- 1937–1945: Leonard Feather 1937–1945 (Classics)
- 1951: Leonard Feather's Swingin' Swedes (Prestige)
- 1954: Dixieland vs. Birdland (MGM)
- 1954: Cats Vs. Chicks (MGM)
- 1954: Winter Sequence (MGM)
- 1956: West Coast vs. East Coast (MGM)
- 1956: Swingin' on the Vibories (MGM)
- 1957: Hi-Fi Suite (MGM)
- 1957: 52nd Street (VSOP)
- 1958: Swingin' Seasons (MGM)
- 1959: Jazz from Two Sides (Concept)
- 1971: Night Blooming Jazzmen featuring Kittie DoswellKittie DoswellKittie Doswell was an American R&B, Soul and Jazz vocalist from Houston, Texas who later in life began a public service career.-Music Career:...
(Mainstream) - 1971: Freedom Jazz Dance (Mainstream)
- 1971–1972: Night Blooming (Mainstream)
- 1972: All-Stars (Mainstream)
- 1997: Presents Bop (Tofrec)
Sources and external links
- The Leonard Feather Collection, part of the International Jazz Collections at the University of Idaho Library
- The Leonard Feather Scrapbooks
- [ Leonard Feather] — brief biography by Scott Yanow, for AllMusic.
- Carr, Ian, Digby Fairweather, & Brian Priestley. Jazz: The Rough Guide. London: Rough Guides. ISBN 1-85828-528-3
- Richard Cook & Brian Morton. The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD 6th edition. ISBN 0-14-051521-6
- Leonard Feather pianist and producer appearing on Continental 78 rpm Jazz Records