Kevin Whitehead
Kevin Whitehead is the jazz historian for NPR's Fresh Air. He's been a contributor to the show since 1987. In 2021 he received the Jazz Journalists Association's Lifetime Achievement Award in Jazz Journalism. Currently he reviews for The Audio Beat and Point of Departure.
Whitehead's articles on jazz and improvised music have appeared in such publications as the Chicago Sun-Times, Village Voice, Down Beat, and the Dutch daily de Volkskrant.
His books include Play the Way You Feel: The Essential Guide to Jazz Stories on Film (2020), Why Jazz: A Concise Guide (2010), and New Dutch Swing (1998, revised 2023). He has taught at Towson University, the University of Kansas and Goucher College, and lives in upstate New York.
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Coltrane, who died in 1967 at age 40, was a comet who lit up the sky, constantly refining his saxophone style and technique alongside his composing, bandleading and advocacy for younger colleagues.
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Wilson, who died Sept. 1, spiced her singing with funk, hip-hop and blues. Kevin Whitehead offers an appreciation, and we listen back to Terry's 1988 interview with Wilson.
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Bennett, who died in 2023, was known for a string of hits, including "I Left My Heart in San Francisco." Kevin Whitehead offers an appreciation and remembers some of Bennett's lesser-known songs.
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Ibrahim, who died June 15, left South Africa in 1962 and lived in exile in the U.S. and Europe for many years. Kevin Whitehead offers an appreciation, and we listen to Terry Gross' 1989 interview.