Gary Giddins (born 1948) is an American jazz critic and author.[1] He wrote for The Village Voice from 1973;[1] his "Weather Bird" column ended in 2003.[2] In 1986, Gary Giddins and John Lewis created the American Jazz Orchestra which presented concerts using a jazz repertory with musicians such as Tony Bennett.[2]
A Moment's Notice: Portraits of American Jazz Musicians (with Carol Friedman) (1983)
Rhythm-a-ning: Jazz Tradition and Innovation (1985)
Celebrating Bird: The Triumph of Charlie Parker (1987, rev. 2013)
Satchmo: The Genius of Louis Armstrong (1988, rev. 2001)
Faces in the Crowd: Musicians, Writers, Actors, and Filmmakers (1992)
Visions of Jazz: The First Century (1998)
Bing Crosby: A Pocketful of Dreams - The Early Years, 1903-1940 (2001)
Weather Bird: Jazz at the Dawn of its Second Century (2004)
Natural Selection: Gary Giddins on Comedy, Film, Music and Books (2006)
Jazz: The Essentials (with Scott DeVeaux) (2009, rev. 2014)
Warning Shadows: Home Alone with Classic Cinema (2010)
Bing Crosby: Swinging on a Star - The War Years, 1940-1946 (2018)
Films
1987: Celebrating Bird: The Triumph of Charlie Parker
1990: Masters of American Music: Satchmo - Louis Armstrong aka Satchmo
1992: John Hammond: From Bessie Smith to Bruce Springsteen (writer)
1999: Contributed to the documentary Barry Harris: The Spirit of Bebop. Giddins (& others) described how Harris developed and maintained an appreciation for Bebop and became a force to engage so many people in a deep love and commitment to music performance.
2000: Contributor of interviews throughout the 10-part PBS series Jazz by Ken Burns.
2004–2007: The Jazz Master Class Series from NYU: Narrator, interviewer, interviewee; series of seven volumes on Cecil Taylor, Jimmy and Percy Heath, Barry Harris, Clark Terry, Phil Woods, Hank Jones, Toots Thielemans
2003–present: Consultant, interviews, commentaries, liner notes for various films for The Criterion Collection[3]
1988 Honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts from Grinnell College[12]
ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award for Celebrating Bird [book], 1988.[11]
1998 National Book Critics Circle Award in Criticism for Visions of Jazz: The First Century[13]
1999 Jazz Journalists Association Excellence in Print and Book of the Year (for Visions of Jazz) Awards.[14]
Ralph J. Gleason Music Book Award for Visions of Jazz, 1998[15]
Ralph J. Gleason Music Book Award for Bing Crosby: A Pocketful of Dreams, 2002.[14][failed verification]
The 2002 Association for Recorded Sound Collections Best Research in Recorded General Popular Music Award Bing Crosby: A Pocketful of Dreams: The Early Years, 1903–1940[16]
2002 Theatre Library Association Award for excellence in writing on film and broadcasting for Bing Crosby: A Pocketful of Dreams: The Early Years, 1903–1940[17]
2001 New York Times-selected Notable Book: Bing Crosby: A Pocketful of Dreams: The Early Years, 1903–1940[18]
Bing Crosby: A Pocketful of Dreams: The Early Years, 1903–1940 nominated one of Los Angeles Times's Best Books of 2001[19]
The 2003 Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Writer of the Year and Lifetime Achievement Awards[20]
^"Notable Books". New York Times. December 2, 2001. Archived from the original on June 10, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
^Sudhalter, Richard M. (December 2, 2001). "The Best Books of 2001". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 1, 2024. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
