Gary Giddins

{{Short description|American jazz critic and author (born 1948)}}

Image:Gary Giddins.JPG conference in Chicago, 2009.]]

Gary Giddins (born 1948) is an American jazz critic and author.{{cite web |last=Yanow |first=Scott|author-link=Scott Yanow |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/gary-giddins-mn0000660522/biography |title=Gary Giddins |website=AllMusic |access-date=20 March 2020}} He wrote for The Village Voice from 1973; his "Weather Bird" column ended in 2003. 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.{{cite web| publisher=Gary Giddens| title=Gary Giddens| last=Giddens|first= Gary| date=27 November 2012| url=http://garygiddins.com/biography/| access-date=2020-05-08}}

For five years, Giddins was the executive director of the Leon Levy Center for Biography at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.

Selected works

=Books=

Riding on a Blue Note (1981)
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{{cite web|url=https://www.criterion.com/current/author/152-gary-giddins|title=Gary Giddins|publisher=The Criterion Collection|access-date=June 29, 2024}}
2014: Bing Crosby Rediscovered – American Masters

Awards

A 9th, 10th, 17th, and 37th Annual ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award Writers or Editors{{cite web |title=9th Annual ASCAP Deems Taylor Award Recipients |url=https://www.ascapfoundation.org/programs/awards/award-recipients/deems-taylor/1976 |website=The ASCAP Foundation |access-date=1 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420154420if_/https://www.ascapfoundation.org/programs/awards/award-recipients/deems-taylor/1976 |archive-date=April 20, 2021 |date=2019 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |title=10th Annual ASCAP Deems Taylor Award Recipients |url=https://www.ascapfoundation.org/programs/awards/award-recipients/deems-taylor/1977 |website=The ASCAP Foundation |access-date=1 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417181233if_/https://www.ascapfoundation.org/programs/awards/award-recipients/deems-taylor/1977 |archive-date=April 17, 2021 |date=2019 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |title=17th Annual ASCAP Deems Taylor Award Recipients |url=https://www.ascapfoundation.org/programs/awards/award-recipients/deems-taylor/1984 |website=The ASCAP Foundation |access-date=1 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816172418if_/https://www.ascapfoundation.org/programs/awards/award-recipients/deems-taylor/1984 |archive-date=August 16, 2021 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |title=37th Annual ASCAP Deems Taylor Award Recipients |url=https://www.ascapfoundation.org/programs/awards/award-recipients/deems-taylor/2004 |website=The ASCAP Foundation |access-date=2 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420170406if_/https://www.ascapfoundation.org/programs/awards/award-recipients/deems-taylor/2004 |archive-date=April 20, 2021 |url-status=live}}
1982 and 1990 Nominee for and 1986 winner of Grammy for Best Album Notes{{cite web |title=1982 Grammy Winners |url=https://www.grammy.com/awards/25th-annual-grammy-awards |website=Grammy Awards |access-date=1 June 2024}}{{cite web |title=1986 Grammy Winners |url=https://www.grammy.com/awards/29th-annual-grammy-awards |website=Grammy Awards |access-date=1 June 2024}}
Guggenheim Fellowship 1986{{cite web|url=https://www.gf.org/fellows/gary-giddins/|title=Gary Giddins|publisher=John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation|access-date=June 2, 2024}}
1987 American Book Award for Celebrating Bird{{cite web |title=Celebrating Bird: The Triumph of Charlie Parker |url=https://www.librarything.com/work/327987 |website=LibraryThing |access-date=1 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230331083917if_/https://www.librarything.com/work/327987 |archive-date=March 31, 2023 |url-status=live}}
1988 Honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts from Grinnell College{{cite web |title=Past Honorary Degrees |url=https://www.grinnell.edu/about/leadership/offices-services/conference-operations/commencement/archives/honorary-degrees |website=Grinnell College |access-date=1 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230610023623if_/https://www.grinnell.edu/about/leadership/offices-services/conference-operations/commencement/archives/honorary-degrees |archive-date=June 10, 2023 |url-status=live}}
ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award for Celebrating Bird [book], 1988.
1998 National Book Critics Circle Award in Criticism for Visions of Jazz: The First Century{{cite web |title=The National Book Critics Circle Awards: 1998 Winners & Finalists |url=https://www.bookcritics.org/past-awards/1998/ |website=National Book Critics Circle |access-date=1 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231211123201if_/https://www.bookcritics.org/past-awards/1998/ |archive-date=December 11, 2023 |url-status=live}}
1999 Jazz Journalists Association Excellence in Print and Book of the Year (for Visions of Jazz) Awards.{{cite web |title=2nd Annual (1999) Jazz Awards |url=http://www.jazzhouse.org/library/index.php3?read=mandel6 |website=Jazz Journalists Association Library |access-date=1 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604033831if_/http://www.jazzhouse.org/library/index.php3?read=mandel6 |archive-date=June 4, 2023 |date=June 15, 1999 |url-status=live}}
Ralph J. Gleason Music Book Award for Visions of Jazz, 1998Gary Giddins, 10th Annual Ralph J. Gleason Music Book Awards, 1998.
Ralph J. Gleason Music Book Award for Bing Crosby: A Pocketful of Dreams, 2002.{{failed verification |date=June 2024}}
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{{cite web |title=ARSC Awards for Excellence: 2002 Winners |url=https://www.arsc-audio.org/awards/awards2002.html |website=Association for Recorded Sound Collections |access-date=1 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230401095131if_/https://www.arsc-audio.org/awards/awards2002.html |archive-date=April 1, 2023 |date=June 14, 2010 |url-status=live}}
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{{cite web |last1=Simonson |first1=Robert |title=Theatre Library Hands Out 2002 Performing Arts Book Awards |url=https://playbill.com/article/theatre-library-hands-out-2002-performing-arts-book-awards-com-106078 |website=Playbill |access-date=1 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624151041if_/https://playbill.com/article/theatre-library-hands-out-2002-performing-arts-book-awards-com-106078 |archive-date=June 24, 2021 |date=May 29, 2002 |url-status=live}}
2001 New York Times-selected Notable Book: Bing Crosby: A Pocketful of Dreams: The Early Years, 1903–1940{{cite news |title=Notable Books |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/02/books/notable-books.html |access-date=1 June 2024 |work=New York Times |date=December 2, 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210610035852if_/https://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/02/books/notable-books.html |archive-date=June 10, 2021 |url-status=live}}
Bing Crosby: A Pocketful of Dreams: The Early Years, 1903–1940 nominated one of Los Angeles Times's Best Books of 2001{{cite news |last1=Sudhalter |first1=Richard M. |title=The Best Books of 2001 |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-dec-02-bk-11084-story.html |access-date=1 June 2024 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=December 2, 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240601235833if_/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-dec-02-bk-11084-story.html |archive-date=June 1, 2024 |url-status=live}}
The 2003 Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Writer of the Year and Lifetime Achievement Awards{{cite web |last1=Oteri |first1=Frank J. |title=The Temperature is HOT at the 2003 JJA Awards |url=https://newmusicusa.org/nmbx/the-temperature-is-hot-at-the-2003-jja-awards/ |website=New Music USA |access-date=2 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240602000517if_/https://newmusicusa.org/nmbx/the-temperature-is-hot-at-the-2003-jja-awards/ |archive-date=June 2, 2024 |date=June 30, 2003 |url-status=live}}