Final Chorus: Duke Ellington Moves Into Public School Systems
Nat Hentoff on ‘Riding on Duke’s Train’
Nat Hentoff
Over more than 60 years, Nat Hentoff (1925-2017) wrote about music, politics, and many other subjects for a variety of publications, including DownBeat (which he edited from 1953 to 1957), the Village Voice (where he was a weekly columnist from 1958 to 2009), the Wall Street Journal, and JazzTimes, to which he regularly contributed the Final Chorus column from 1998 to 2012. Of the 32 books that he wrote, co-wrote, or edited, 10 focus on jazz. In 2004, Hentoff became the first recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts’ Jazz Masters award for jazz advocacy.
Nat Hentoff on social media
Nat Hentoff on the Jazz Foundation of America
When the jazz family is suffering
Passing the Jazz Torch
How the non-profit JazzBoston creates new jazz generations
Seeking Justice for Musicians in Jazz Clubs
Nat Hentoff on New York Local 802’s efforts to improve benefits for jazz musicians
Opening Kids’ Minds and Lives to Music
Nat Hentoff on “el Sistema” – an innovative approach to teaching music to young people
NEA Jazz Masters No More?
I recently received from the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters 1982-2011, a large, handsomely produced history of the award that former NEA Chairman … Read More “NEA Jazz Masters No More?”
Moody’s Lifelong Love Affair
Nat Hentoff on the legacy of saxophonist James Moody
Luis Bonilla’s Waves of Jazz Exhilaration
Nat Hentoff is excited about young trombonist
The St. Louis Blues
I’m too often startled by how much I’ve yet to learn about subjects I’ve covered throughout my life-for example, the blues. Along with writing sections … Read More “The St. Louis Blues”
Final Chorus: Teaching Satchmo & Duke to 7th Graders
Nat Hentoff on Mick Carlon and his approach to jazz appreciation for middle-schoolers
Jews in the Family of Jazz
For 60 years I’ve been waiting for a book that has finally been published in England: Jazz Jews by Mike Gerber (Five Leaves Publications; [email protected], … Read More “Jews in the Family of Jazz”
Vince Guaraldi: That Joyous Thing
Despite writing about jazz musicians for over 60 years, I am sometimes sharply reminded that I’ve essentially missed, or badly underestimated, a vital individualist. It … Read More “Vince Guaraldi: That Joyous Thing”
Final Chorus: Torture Chamber Music
Nat Hentoff looks at how music has been used for torture and what musicians are doing about it.
Final Chorus: Oprah & the Jazz Image
A little exposure could go a long way, if only…
Final Chorus: What About Mingus?
Is this innovative figure being forgotten?
Final Chorus: Jazz’s First Lady of Charity
When Phoebe Jacobs, longtime friend and associate of Louis Armstrong, says, “Don’t let anyone tell you Louis is dead because he’s not,” she’s not talking … Read More “Final Chorus: Jazz’s First Lady of Charity”
Final Chorus: Jazz Revelations for Baby Boomers
A lawyer I know began his jazz listening with the bebop of Bird and Dizzy, although he knew they had forebears whom he intended to … Read More “Final Chorus: Jazz Revelations for Baby Boomers”
Final Chorus: Is Jazz Black Music?
In January, I was on a panel at Jazz at Lincoln Center. The subject, “Is Jazz Black Music?” is still a lively and even combative … Read More “Final Chorus: Is Jazz Black Music?”
Final Chorus: New Finds for the Jazz Bookshelf
More than the rest of us who write about jazz, Whitney Balliett’s words describing music often turned into music. Yet the last book he wrote … Read More “Final Chorus: New Finds for the Jazz Bookshelf”
Final Chorus: The Life Force of New Orleans
From when I was too young to be allowed into Boston jazz clubs, there’s an enduring memory of sneaking into Downtown at the Ken and … Read More “Final Chorus: The Life Force of New Orleans”
Final Chorus: My Love Affair With the Clarinet
During the so-called Great Depression, aware of my immersion in music, my father bought a small soprano saxophone for me in a pawnshop when I … Read More “Final Chorus: My Love Affair With the Clarinet”
Final Chorus: Satchmo’s Rap Sheet
The FBI is proposing a new computer-profiling system, STAR (the System to Assess Risk), that, as National Public Radio reported on July 17, will be … Read More “Final Chorus: Satchmo’s Rap Sheet”
Final Chorus: The Thoreau of Jazz
As a teenager in Boston, one of my heroes-after Duke Ellington-was a fellow New Englander, Henry David Thoreau, who, as an unyielding abolitionist and opponent … Read More “Final Chorus: The Thoreau of Jazz”
Final Chorus: Expanding the Map
I am grateful for the considerable response from readers to my June column, “Uncovering Jazz Trails.” My hope is that as local newspapers, radio and … Read More “Final Chorus: Expanding the Map”
Final Chorus: Bridging Generations
Having known jazz musicians off the stand from my teens on, I was struck-contrasting with most of the adults I knew-by their dedication to their … Read More “Final Chorus: Bridging Generations”
Final Chorus: Born in Israel
Randy Weston can’t be mistaken for anyone else. As he once said, “I don’t like the electric piano because my sound is my voice, and … Read More “Final Chorus: Born in Israel”
Final Chorus: Uncovering Jazz Trails
The headline in Allegro, the newspaper of New York’s Local 802, American Federation of Musicians, heralded the presence of the jazz tribe: “over 8,000 educators, … Read More “Final Chorus: Uncovering Jazz Trails”
Final Chorus: He Made Festivals Happen
I first met George Wein in 1949, when he was a pianist working with the renowned Edmond Hall at the Savoy Café, Boston’s “Home of … Read More “Final Chorus: He Made Festivals Happen”
Final Chorus: Playing Changes on Jazz Interviews
I expect that if anything I’ve written about this music lasts, it will be the interviews I’ve done with the musicians for more than 50 … Read More “Final Chorus: Playing Changes on Jazz Interviews”
Final Chorus: A Complete Jazzman
I am greatly indebted to Thomas Bellino, whose Planet Arts-a not-for-profit company involved in a network of educational and culturally awakening projects-includes Planet Arts Recordings. … Read More “Final Chorus: A Complete Jazzman”