Chip Deffaa is an American author, playwright, jazz historian, songwriter, director, and producer of plays and recordings. For 18 years, he wrote for the ''
New York Post
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com.
It was established ...
'', covering jazz, cabaret, and theater. He has contributed to ''
Jazz Times
''JazzTimes'' is an American magazine devoted to jazz. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1970 by Ira Sabin as the newsletter ''Radio Free Jazz'' to complement his record store.
Coverage
After a decade of growth ...
'', ''
The Mississippi Rag
Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott ...
'',
''
Down Beat
' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...
'', ''Cabaret Scenes'', England's ''Crescendo'', and ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
''. He was born in New Rochelle, New York.
Career
Deffaa wrote and directed ''
George M. Cohan Tonight!'' off-Broadway in New York at the Irish Repertory Theatre. The cast album was released in 2006 by Sh-K-Boom/Ghostlight Records. ''George M. Cohan Tonight!'' opened September 21, 2010 at the New Players Theater on the West End in London/ Deffaa directed a production of ''George M. Cohan Tonight!'' starring Jon Peterson—star of the original Off-Broadway production—in Seoul, Korea in July 2016.
After several regional productions, ''One Night with Fanny Brice'' was produced Off-Broadway in New York at St. Luke's Theatre, 308 W. 46th Street; previews began on March 16, 2011; the official opening night was April 3, 2011. A revised version of the show opened at The 13th Street Repertory Theatre, 50. W. 13th St., NYC, on April 22, 2013. The cast album of ''One Night with Fanny Brice'' was released in September 2010 by Original Cast Records.
In 2002 he produced ''The Chip Deffaa Invitational Theater Festival'', taking over two theaters on 42nd Street in NYC to present, with support from Chashama, more than 25 theatrical productions in a six-week period, featuring Jon Peterson, Laurence O'Keefe, Brett Kristofferson, Peter-Michael Marino, Okey Chenoweth, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Dawne Swearingen, Karen Oberlin, Deb Rabbai.
Deffaa also lectures on theater and jazz. His 2007 lectures in Korea, timed to coincide with the opening of one of his plays there, were sponsored by the US State Department. Deffaa has written liner notes for albums by
Chase Baird
David "Chase" Baird (born March 18, 1988) is an American saxophonist and composer.
Biography Early life
Baird was born in Seattle, Washington. He was introduced to music at an early age by his father, a trumpet player who played in rock band ...
,
Count Basie
William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...
,
Ray Brown,
Ruth Brown
Ruth Alston Brown (; January 12, 1928 – November 17, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter and actress, sometimes referred to as the " Queen of R&B". She was noted for bringing a pop music style to R&B music in a series of hit songs for Atl ...
,
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...
,
Benny Goodman
Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing".
From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His co ...
,
Scott Hamilton,
Dick Hyman
Richard Hyman (born March 8, 1927) is an American jazz pianist and composer. Over a 70-year career, he has worked as a pianist, organist, arranger, music director, electronic musician, and composer. He was named a National Endowment for the Art ...
,
Jon-Erik Kellso,
Tito Puente
Ernest Anthony Puente Jr. (April 20, 1923 – June 1, 2000), commonly known as Tito Puente, was an American musician, songwriter, bandleader, and record producer of Puerto Rican descent. He is best known for dance-oriented mambo and Latin jazz c ...
,
Randy Sandke
Jay Randall Sandke (born May 5, 1949 in Chicago, Illinois) is a jazz trumpeter and guitarist.
While a student at Indiana University in 1968, he and Michael Brecker started a jazz-rock band (Mrs. Seamon's Sound Band) that performed at the Notre D ...
,
Diane Schuur
Diane Joan Schuur (born December 10, 1953), nicknamed "Deedles", is an American jazz singer and pianist. As of 2015, Schuur had released 23 albums, and had extended her jazz repertoire to include essences of Latin, gospel, pop and country music ...
,
Maxine Sullivan
Maxine Sullivan (May 13, 1911 – April 7, 1987), born Marietta Williams in Homestead, Pennsylvania, United States, was an American jazz vocalist and performer.
As a vocalist, Sullivan was active for half a century, from the mid-1930s to just be ...
, and
Frank Vignola
Frank Vignola (born December 30, 1965) is an American jazz guitarist. He has played in the genres of swing, fusion, gypsy jazz, classical, and pop.
Career
Vignola grew up on Long Island, New York. His father played accordion and banjo and ...
.
He is a member of the Stage Directors & Choreographers Society, the Dramatists Guild, ASCAP, NARAS, the Jazz Journalists Association, the F. Scott Fitzgerald Society, the Drama Desk, the American Theatre Critics Association, and is a trustee of the Princeton ''Tiger'' magazine.
Deffaa won an ASCAP Foundation Deems Taylor/Virgil Thompson Award in 1993,
a New Jersey Press Association Award, and an
IRNE Award
The IRNE Awards are presented annually by the Independent Reviewers of New England (IRNE) to honor the best achievements in Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealt ...
(Independent Reviewers of New England).
*
* "Chip Deffaa: Musical Archeologist Digs Irving Berlin and Others" by Rob Lester, ''Cabaret Scenes'' magazine, March–April 2017
Books
* ''Swing Legacy''
* ''Voices of the Jazz Age''
* ''In the Mainstream''
* ''Traditionalists and Revivalists in Jazz''
* ''Jazz Veterans''
* ''Blue Rhythms''
* ''C'mon Get Happy'' with David Cassidy
* ''F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Princeton Years'' (as editor)
As contributor
* ''Harlem Speaks''
* ''Roaring at One Hundred''
Plays
* ''George M. Cohan & Co.'' (Eldridge Plays)
* ''George M. Cohan: In his Own Words'' (Samuel French)
* ''Irving Berlin's America'' (Steele Spring Stage Rights)
* ''Irving Berlin: In Person'' (Leicester Bay Theatricals)
* ''Mad About the Boy''
* ''One Night with Fanny Brice'' (Leicester Bay Theatricals)
* ''Presenting Fanny Brice: The Original Funny Girl'' (Eldridge Plays)
* ''Song-and-Dance Kids'' (Leicester Bay Theatricals)
* ''The Family that Sings Together...'' (Drama Source)
* ''The George M. Cohan Revue'' (Samuel French)
* ''The Irving Berlin Ragtime Revue''
* ''The Johnny Mercer Jamboree''
* ''
The Seven Little Foys
''The Seven Little Foys'' is a Technicolor in VistaVision 1955 comedy film directed by Melville Shavelson starring Bob Hope as Eddie Foy. One highlight of the film is an energetic tabletop dance showdown sequence with Bob Hope as Eddie Foy and ...
'' (Leicester Bay Theatricals)
* ''Theater Boys''
* ''Yankee Doodle Boy'' (Drama Source)
Discography
* ''Chip Deffaa's Gay Love'' (Garret Mountain)
* ''Chip Deffaa's Irving Berlin & Co.: The Original Cast Album'' (Garret Mountain)
* ''Chip Deffaa's Irving Berlin Ragtime Rarities'' (Garret Mountain)
* ''Chip Deffaa's Irving Berlin Ragtime Revue: The Original Cast Album'' (Garret Mountain)
* ''Chip Deffaa's Irving Berlin Rediscovered: Rare Songs of Love and Longing'' (Garret Mountain)
* ''Chip Deffaa's Irving Berlin Revisited: Rare Songs of Love, Loss, and Revenge'' (Garret Mountain)
* ''Chip Deffaa's Irving Berlin Songbook: Rare and Unrecorded Songs'' (Garret Mountain)
* ''Chip Deffaa's Irving Berlin's America Co-Starring Michael Townsend Wright and Matthew Nardozzi'' (Garret Mountain)
* ''Chip Deffaa's Irving Berlin's America: The Premiere Recording Co-Starring Michael Townsend Wright and Jack Saleeby''
* ''Chip Deffaa's Irving Berlin: In Person the Premiere Recording'' (Garret Mountain)
* ''Chip Deffaa's Mad About the Boy: The Festival Cast Plus Special Guest Stars'' (Garret Mountain)
* ''Chip Deffaa's Mad About the Boy: The Original Cast Album: The 13th Street Theater Production'' (Garret Mountain)
* ''Chip Deffaa's One Night with Fanny Brice Starring Mary Cantoni Johnson: The New York Cast Album'' (Garret Mountain)
* ''Chip Deffaa's The Seven Little Foys: The Original Cast Album''
* ''Chip Deffaa's Theater Boys: The Original Cast Album''
* ''George M. Cohan: In His Own Words: Highlights from the Musical Production'' (42nd Street)
* ''George M. Cohan: Rare Original Recordings'' (Chip Deffaa Productions)
* ''Irving Berlin's America: The Original New York Production with Michael Townsend Wright and Giuseppe Bausillio''
* ''One Night with Fanny Brice: The Premiere Recording Starring Kimberly Faye Greenberg'' Original Cast
* ''The Chip Deffaa Songbook'' (Garret Mountain)
* ''The George M. Cohan Revue'' (Uptown Studio)
* ''The Johnny Mercer Jamboree: The Original Cast Album''
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deffaa, Chip
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
20th-century American dramatists and playwrights
20th-century American male writers
20th-century American non-fiction writers
American male dramatists and playwrights
American male journalists
American music historians
American male non-fiction writers
New York Post people
Historians from New York (state)