Skip to main content

Nat Hentoff Biography

nat-hentoff
  • Born: June 10, 1925 in Boston, MA
  • Years Active: 1990s
  • Genre: Jazz

One of the top jazz writers of the 1950s, Nat Hentoff's insightful chapters on Charles Mingus, Ornette Coleman and Thelonious Monk in his classic book The Jazz Life are quite detailed and memorable. Hentoff attended Northeastern University and Harvard in the 1940s, had a radio show on WMEX in Boston (1944-53) and was inspired by the local Boston area jazz scene. In addition to The Jazz Life, Hentoff co-edited Hear Me Talkin' To Ya with Nat Shapiro (the book told the history of jazz up to the mid-1950s through the words of jazz's greatest players), he co-edited Jazz with Albert McCarthy, wrote The Jazz Makers, during 1953-57 was the associate editor of Down Beat and was coeditor of the short-lived Jazz Review (1958-61). Hentoff founded and ran the Candid label during 1960-61. During the company's brief existence, Hentoff produced important sessions by quite a few artists including Charles Mingus, Phil Woods ("The Right of Swing"), Benny Bailey, Otis Spann, Buell Neidlinger (featuring Cecil Taylor) and Abbey Lincoln. After the early '60s, Nat Hentoff largely drifted away from jazz, writing about social and political issues. He has on an occasional basis during the past three decades penned liner notes for such diverse artists as David Murray and Teresa Brewer. ~ Scott Yanow, Rovi

Advertisement