Nat Hentoff - Biography

Born June 10th, 1925; Boston, MA

On the auspicious occasion of a sea change in the American Jazz Masters awards to encompass jazz advocates, or laypersons who have contributed immeasurably to the perpetuation of jazz, it's fitting that the initial recipient is this celebrated writer-author-social commentator. As a student at Northeastern University in his native Boston, and later at Harvard in Cambridge, young Nat Hentoff quickly immersed himself in the city's thriving jazz scene. He hosted a radio program for WMEX in Boston, then left in 1950 to study at the Sorbonne in Paris.

Upon his return stateside he was named associate editor of Down Beat magazine, where his tenure lasted from 1953-1957. In 1958 Hentoff became co-editor of Jazz Review until 1961. During his final year at Jazz Review he took an Artist & Repertory directorship for the Candid record label. At Candid he produced records by an impressive array of mainly jazz artists, including Benny Bailey, Abbey Lincoln, Charles Mingus, Cecil Taylor, and Phil Woods. Significantly, Nat Hentoff's jazz advocacy and writings has known no stylistic boundaries; ranging literally from ragtime to no time.

Thereafter Hentoff's jazz advocacy took the form of writing numerous album liner notes by the great, near-great, and several of his own artist "discoveries." He has also continued to pen jazz commentary, for such prints as The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and New Yorker. More recently Hentoff has served as monthly back-page columnist for JazzTimes magazine, writing penetrating and revealing commentaries on various and sundry issues and often on forgotten or overlooked artists. He is known to put the skewer to various perceived shortcomings. For the most part his writing of the last 25 years has been in the area of civil liberties as a staunch defender of the First Amendment, as well as numerous writings on our education system.

NEA Jazz Masters 2004 Fellowships Recipients