George Francis Frazier Jr. (June 10, 1911 – June 13, 1974) was an American

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

. Frazier was raised in

South Boston South Boston is a densely populated neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, located south and east of the Fort Point Channel and abutting Dorchester Bay. South Boston, colloquially known as Southie, has undergone several demographic transformati ...

, attended the

Boston Latin School The Boston Latin School is a public exam school in Boston, Massachusetts. It was established on April 23, 1635, making it both the oldest public school in the British America and the oldest existing school in the United States. Its curriculum f ...

, and was graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

(where he won the Boylston Prize for Rhetoric) in 1932. He wrote for the Boston newspapers and for ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...

'' magazine, as well as many other venues, including the New York papers. Beginning as a jazz critic, his ''Sweet and Low Down'' column, debuting in the ''

Boston Herald The ''Boston Herald'' is an American daily newspaper whose primary market is Boston, Massachusetts, and its surrounding area. It was founded in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States. It has been awarded eight Pulit ...

'' on January 27, 1942, was the first regular jazz column in an American big-city daily. He soon left jazz criticism for general journalism. He concluded his career as a much-revered columnist for ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

''. Called "Acidmouth" by his publishers at ''

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 ...

'', he was known for his arch style, acerbic wit, erudite Olympian pronouncements on men's fashion, and general ''

je ne sais quoi Many words in the English vocabulary are of French origin, most coming from the Anglo-Norman language, Anglo-Norman spoken by the upper classes in England for several hundred years after the Norman conquest of England, Norman Conquest, before ...

''. Frazier wrote the song "Harvard Blues" (music by

Tab Smith Talmadge "Tab" Smith (January 11, 1909 – August 17, 1971) was an American swing and rhythm and blues alto saxophonist. He is best remembered for the tracks "Because of You" and "Pretend". He worked with Count Basie, the Mills Rhythm Boys a ...

), recorded in 1941 by

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 ...

and included on the compilation ''The Count Basie Story, Disc 3 - Harvard Blues'' (2001, Proper Records). Thanks to his writing, Frazier earned a place on the

master list of Nixon political opponents Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

Links to writings by Frazier

"The Art of Wearing Clothes"
article by George Frazier, ''

'' magazine, September 1960
"Whose Civil Rights"
column by George Frazier, ''

'', August 30, 1963
Small sample of Frazier's jazz criticism from 1942, JazzBoston

"Warlord of the Weejuns", Frazier's liner notes for the 1965 album ''Miles Davis' Greatest Hits'' (reprinted in ''Ivy Style'', May 10, 2010)

References

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Frazier, George 1911 births Harvard College alumni American male journalists American columnists Jazz writers Obituary writers 1974 deaths 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American male writers The Boston Globe people