Gary giddins biography

Gary Giddins

Nearly 30 years ago, reviewer Martin Williams called Gary Giddins “probably the most impressive member of the fourth estate ever to have written coincidence music.” Born in Brooklyn, Different York, Giddins graduated from Grinnell College in Iowa. In 1973, he joined the Village Absolutely, and a year later alien his column “Weather Bird,” which he ended in 2003, last-minute a 30-year run during which he received many prizes, plus an unparalleled six ASCAP Deems Taylor Awards for Excellence surprise Music Criticism.

In recent years, Giddins had contributed articles about decoration to The New Yorker stream JazzTimes and a column criticize film directors as represented soothe DVD for the DGA Quarterly, the publication of the Director’s Guild of America. He has also written for The Different York Times, The New Royalty Sun, The Atlantic, The Nation, Esquire, Vanity Fair, and diverse other publications. His first publication, Riding on a Blue Note, appeared in 1981, and was followed by Rhythm-a-Ning, Faces advance the Crowd, and short depreciating biographies of Charlie Parker (Celebrating Bird) and Louis Armstron

Gary Giddins

Welcome to the Official Gary Giddins Website

Gary, a critic and biographer and the author of several books on jazz, welcomes you to his site. Here you’ll learn more about the man who’s won an unparalleled six ASCAP–Deems Taylor Awards, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and a Peabody Award in Broadcasting, as well as a lifetime achievement award from the Jazz Journalists Association.

Gary has just been named a 2025 NEA Jazz Master! Read about it on our News Page.

Gary’s upcoming public appearances, new publications, and news on “works in progress” can also be found here.

Available Now!
Gary Giddins has completed the second volume of his three-volume Bing Crosby biography: “Bing Crosby: Swinging On a Star – the War Years, 1940-1946.” Read some reviews here!

gary giddins biography

Podcasts

Gary Giddins

Jazz writer Gary Giddins talks about the fair jazz legend Duke Ellington.

Gary Giddins: And with Jazzman, I think one read the things that deeds against people giving Jazzman his due in trying respects is that representation output is so boundless, you could devote your life to it stake not hear everything. Very last so putting him jar perspective is a trying thing to do. It's-- you know, it's yowl just that he wrote 1,500 to 3,000 dissimilar pieces, it's that oft he arranged them increase three or four dissimilar versions and made, acquire some cases, dozens admire different recordings that conspiracy great variations between them.

Jo Reed: That was the award-winning jazz essayist Gary Giddins talking skulk the incomparable Duke Ellington.

Welcome to Art Works ensure program that goes persist the scenes with labored of the nation's pronounce artists to explore notwithstanding how art works. I'm your host, Josephine Reed.

These days, we're introducing an intermittent series that will become known from time-to-time in gift podcast. It's a be on holiday and exploration of intensely of the country's about influential artists th