Kevin Whitehead
Kevin Whitehead is the jazz critic for NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross. Currently he reviews for The Audio Beat and Point of Departure.
Whitehead's articles on jazz and improvised music have appeared in such publications as Point of Departure, the Chicago Sun-Times, Village Voice, Down Beat, and the Dutch daily de Volkskrant.
He is the author of Play the Way You Feel: The Essential Guide to Jazz Stories on Film (2020), Why Jazz: A Concise Guide (2010), New Dutch Swing (1998), and (with photographer Ton Mijs) Instant Composers Pool Orchestra: You Have to See It (2011).
His essays have appeared in numerous anthologies including Da Capo Best Music Writing 2006, Discover Jazz and Traveling the Spaceways: Sun Ra, the Astro-Black and Other Solar Myths.
Whitehead has taught at Towson University, the University of Kansas and Goucher College. He lives near Baltimore.
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A CD set from Mosaic, full of singles and albums made between '46 and '66, confirms the variety of Armstrong's studio sides — and shows how much work went into making them sound casual.
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Coleman, who died in 2015, had a knack for writing catchy melodies in a distinctive voice. Saxophonist Miguel Zenón loves Coleman's music and put together a quartet to play some.
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The jazz pianist only recorded two albums, the second of which was long believed to be lost. Now, the rediscovery of Metaphysics: The Lost Atlantic Sessionis cause for renewed celebration.
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For Helfer, vintage piano dialects are living traditions, not museum exhibits. The 85-year-old Chicago musician helps keep those traditions alive — and passes that knowledge on — with a new album.
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The French pianist is known for inserting pieces of wood between strings to produce new sounds. Delbecq's technique — as showcased on his new album — can make him sound like he has an extra hand.
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Hemphill was a founding member and principal composer for the World Saxophone Quartet. The Boyé Multi-National Crusade for Harmonyfeatures seven discs of newly released music from his archives.
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Though Andra Day plays the jazz legend with conviction, The United States vs. Billie Holiday fictionalizes the particulars of Holiday's life, where the real story is dramatic enough.
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Corea, who died Feb. 9, had a strong melodic sense and a crisp, distinctive touch at the keyboard. Looking back, it's easy to hear why he was among the most beloved of modern improvising composers.
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Abrams' quartet can groove and play pretty, but they can also do free jazz. Their new album is about being part of something bigger, where each player is stronger for all the ways they interlock.
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Dozens of notable jazz musicians died this year, many from COVID-19. Fresh Air critic Kevin Whitehead remembers some of the legends lost, including Bucky Pizzarelli, Ellis Marsalis and Jimmy Heath.