(from his own words; taken from Scott Yanow's official website)
Jazz caught my ear from the time I was 15. I first heard Dixieland in the Danny Kaye movie The Five Pennies and on a daily radio show hosted by the late Benson Curtis. I discovered Swing when I ran across Chuck Cecil's Swinging Years on the radio.
At college, roommates thought I had a huge record collection when they saw my 25 Lps, but were dismayed to find out that it was all dixieland and swing. One day at a used record store, I ran across a $1.99 Charlie Parker LP that, among other songs, included "White Christmas." I had never heard of "Groovin’ High" or "A Night In Tunisia" but at least I had heard "White Christmas" somewhere! I played the album two or three times each day for a week. It took about five days for my ears to be opened and then I became quite anxious to learn about all eras of jazz. Within two months I was into John Coltrane's 1966 explorations with Pharoah Sanders and Miles Davis' Live/Evil, quite a jump from Pete Fountain. My desire to own and hear every jazz recording is still my goal.
After I graduated college with an accounting degree, rather than get a real job, I became the jazz editor for Record Review, a now-legendary music magazine that lasted for 44 issues. That experience and its publisher Brian Ashley started me in the jazz writing business.
Since then, I have been involved in many projects. Being the Senior Editor for the 3rd edition of the All Music Guide For Jazz resulted in a countless number of my CD reviews and biographies being utilized throughout the internet including Pandora Radio. In addition to having written ten books so far (most recently The Jazz Singers) and writing for the Jazz Heritage Club, I am currently writing for the popular jazz radio series Jim Cullum's Riverwalk - Live At The Landing.
I have written over 600 liner notes, hundreds of press biographies and press releases, and it has been said that I have reviewed more jazz recordings than anyone in history. I have contributed to virtually all of the major jazz magazines including Downbeat, Jazz Times, Jazziz, Cadence, Coda, The Mississippi Rag, Jazz Forum, Jazz News, The Jazz Report, Planet Jazz, Jazz Now and Jazz Improv. These days I write regularly for Jazz Times, Jazziz and The Los Angeles Jazz Scene.
In addition, I offer a variety of services for jazz and blues performers. Check out the Musicians' Corner for more information.
I have also written for several jazz festival programs. The biographies and discographies that I wrote for the Playboy Jazz Festival and the San Francisco Jazz Festival programs can be found at Festival Program Guides.
Scott Yanow's official website: ~www.scottyanow.com
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