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Kevin Whitehead

Kevin Whitehead is the jazz critic on NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross.

Widely written on American and improvised musics, Whitehead's articles have appeared in publications such as the Chicago Sun-Times, Village Voice, and Down Beat. He is the author of Why Jazz: A Concise Guide (2010) and New Dutch Swing (1998), and the jazz columnist for eMusic.com. His essays have appeared in numerous anthologies including Da Capo Best Music Writing 2006, Jazz: The First Century and The Cartoon Music Book.

Whitehead taught at the University of Kansas and Goucher College. He lives outside of Austin, Texas.

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Music Reviews
12:47 pm
Tue December 11, 2012

Bass Note: Mingus And The Jazz Workshop Concerts

Credit Ray Avery / CTS Images
Jazz great Charles Mingus performs at the Monterey Jazz Festival in September 1964.
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Originally published on Tue December 11, 2012 7:28 pm

On a new box set from mail-order house Mosaic Records, Charles Mingus, The Jazz Workshop Concerts 1964-65, the jazz legend's bands usually number between five and eight players. The bassist often made those bands sound bigger. He'd been using midsize ensembles since the '50s, but his new ones were more flexible than ever, light on their feet but able to fill in backgrounds like a large group.

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Music Reviews
1:28 pm
Fri December 7, 2012

Forgotten Gems From The Dave Brubeck Quartet

Credit Hulton Archive / Getty Images
The Dave Brubeck Quartet.
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This review was originally broadcast on March 12, 2012. Brubeck died Wednesday at age 91.

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Music Reviews
12:18 pm
Mon November 26, 2012

Jason Kao Hwang: From The Blues To China And Back

Credit Courtesy of the artist
Burning Bridge personnel, left to right: Jason Kao Hwang (violin), Wang Guowei (erhu), Sun Li (pipa), Ken Filiano (string bass), Andrew Drury (drum set), Joseph Daley (tuba), Steve Swell (trombone), Taylor Ho Bynum (cornet/flugelhorn).
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Originally published on Mon November 26, 2012 3:35 pm

Jazz reflects who we are as a people — democracy in action and all that. But a jazz tune or solo is also a portrait of the musician who makes it; the music reflects the particular background and training that influences how composers compose and improvisers improvise. Jason Kao Hwang makes that autobiographical component explicit throughout his extended composition for eight pieces, Burning Bridge. His parents made the move from China around the end of WWII, and he grew up attending Presbyterian services in suburban Chicago.

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Music Reviews
1:26 pm
Wed November 21, 2012

The Mythic Power Of Bessie Smith

Credit Three Lions / Getty Images
circa 1935: American singer Bessie Smith (circa 1894 - 1937), known as the Empress of the Blues. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images)
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Originally published on Mon November 26, 2012 11:39 am

Vocalist Bessie Smith's musical career, spanning 1923-33, has been collected in a new 10-CD box set, Bessie Smith: The Complete Columbia Recordings.

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Music
4:35 pm
Tue October 30, 2012

After 26 Years, The Sam Rivers Trio Resurfaces

Credit Ken Weiss / Courtesy of the artist
Sam Rivers' trio with Dave Holland and Barry Altschul (not pictured) recently released its 2007 reunion show on CD.
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Originally published on Mon November 5, 2012 10:00 am

This review was originally broadcast on Sept. 26, 2012.

Jazz multi-instrumentalist Sam Rivers, who died at 88 in December 2011, recorded with many trios in the 1970s. But his most celebrated trio was barely recorded at all. In 2007, it played a reunion concert — its first in 26 years.

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Music Reviews
2:43 pm
Fri October 26, 2012

George Cables: A Heartfelt Tribute To His 'Muse'

Credit Courtesy of the artist
Saxophonist Art Pepper called George Cables his favorite pianist.
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In the 1970s and '80s, George Cables was the pianist of choice for saxophonists Dexter Gordon and Art Pepper; Pepper called him his favorite pianist.

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Music Reviews
12:35 pm
Thu October 11, 2012

Ron Miles Finds Wide-Open Spaces On 'Quiver'

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Credit John Spiral
For Ron Miles, the better he knows how a tune works, the less he has to play to put it across.
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cover for Quiver
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Originally published on Thu October 11, 2012 3:19 pm

Teaching jazz history got trumpeter Ron Miles deep into the pleasures of early jazz, with its clarity of form and emphasis on melodic improvising that doesn't wander far from the tune.

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Music Reviews
12:59 pm
Wed September 26, 2012

After 26 Years, The Sam Rivers Trio Resurfaces

Credit Ken Weiss / Courtesy of the artist
Sam Rivers' trio with Dave Holland and Barry Altschul (not pictured) recently released its 2007 reunion show on CD.
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Originally published on Wed September 26, 2012 2:12 pm

Jazz multi-instrumentalist Sam Rivers, who died at 88 in December 2011, recorded with many trios in the 1970s. But his most celebrated trio was barely recorded at all. In 2007, it played a reunion concert — its first in 26 years.

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Music Reviews
9:48 am
Fri September 21, 2012

Vince Guaraldi Didn't Just Play For 'Peanuts'

Credit Courtesy of the artist
Vince Guaraldi had range, as well as an instrumental hit right when jazz was vanishing from AM radio.
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Originally published on Fri September 21, 2012 12:57 pm

There must have been times in 1963, when Vince Guaraldi was riding high on his surprise hit "Cast Your Fate to the Wind," when he thought, "This is what I'll be remembered for." Not that he minded. He said taking requests for the tune was like signing the back of a check. The song's got a great hook tied to a poppy, uplifting chord sequence.

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Music Reviews
1:00 pm
Tue September 18, 2012

Brad Mehldau: (Unlikely) Songs By Other People

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Credit Michael Wilson / Courtesy of the artist
Brad Mehldau's latest covers project, Where Do You Start, came out Tuesday.
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cover for Where Do You Start
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Originally published on Tue September 18, 2012 7:23 pm

At this point, there's nothing special about jazz musicians playing post-Beatles pop: It's just the new normal. But one of the trendsetters on that score was pianist Brad Mehldau and his versions of Radiohead and Nick Drake tunes. Now, Mehldau's trio has a new covers album out.

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