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

Early life

Frazier was raised in South Boston, 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 (where he won the Boylston Prize for Rhetoric) in 1932.

Career

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''. Called "Acidmouth" by his publishers at '' Down Beat'', 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), recorded in 1941 by Count Basie 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.

Quotes

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