Michael Brooks (1935 – November 20, 2020) was a British-born music historian, archivist, consultant, and producer.

Biography

Brooks was born in Tooting, London, and moved to New York City in 1966. He began his music career in 1971, assisting and producing records with John Hammond of

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

. This collaboration resulted in many reissues of jazz,

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

, big band, and country music artifacts, currently on the

Legacy Recordings Legacy Recordings is an American record label that is a division of Sony Music. Formed in 1990 after Sony's acquisition of CBS Records, Legacy originally handled the archives of Sony Music-owned labels Columbia Records and Epic Records. In 20 ...

label. In later life Brooks worked at Sony Music Entertainment as a consultant. He died in November 2020, aged 85.Xan Brooks, "Michael Brooks Obituary", ''The Guardian'', 29 November 2020
Retrieved 30 November 2020

Discography

Brooks' credits on many various projects include the following:

Producer

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

: The Essential Duke Ellington *Duke Ellington: Piano in the Background *Duke Ellington: Festival Session *Duke Ellington: Masterpieces by Ellington (Bonus Tracks) *Duke Ellington: OKeh Ellington *Duke Ellington: Blues in Orbit (Bonus Tracks) *Duke Ellington: Piano in the Foreground (Bonus Tracks) *

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

: Essential Louis Armstrong *Louis Armstrong: Hot Fives, Vol. 1 *Louis Armstrong: Hot Fives & Hot Sevens, Vol. 2 * Billie Holiday: Billie Holiday Collection, Vol. 1 *Billie Holiday: Billie Holiday Collection, Vol. 2 *Billie Holiday: Billie Holiday Collection, Vol. 4 *Billie Holiday: Love Songs, Vol. 2 *Billie Holiday: Blue Billie (Columbia) *Billie Holiday: Lady Day Swings! *Lester Young: Evening of a Basie-ite PREZ *

Cab Calloway Cabell Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, conductor and dancer. He was associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he was a regular performer and became a popular vocalist ...

: Cab Calloway (Featuring Chu Berry) *

Bix Beiderbecke Leon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke (March 10, 1903 – August 6, 1931) was an American jazz cornetist, pianist and composer. Beiderbecke was one of the most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s, a cornet player noted for an inventive lyrical app ...

: Vol. 1: Singin' the Blues * Charlie Christian: Genius of the Electric Guitar (Columbia Box Set) *

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 ...

: The Essential Benny Goodman (Bluebird/Legacy) * Tommy Dorsey: The Sentimental Gentleman of Swing: Centennial Collection *Various Artists: PROGRESSIONS: 100 Years Of Jazz Guitars *Various Artists: Art Deco: The Crooners *Various Artists: Real Kansas City *Various Artists: Now That's Chicago! *Various Artists: Stars of the Apollo *Various Artists: Little Club Jazz: Small Groups in the 30s (New World Records)

Liner Notes

*Billie Holiday: Billie Holiday Collection, Vol. 1 *Billie Holiday: Billie Holiday Collection, Vol. 2 *Billie Holiday: Billie Holiday Collection, Vol. 3 *Billie Holiday: Billie Holiday Collection, Vol. 4 *Lester Young: Evening of a Basie-ite PREZ *Bix Beiderbecke: Vol. 1: Singin' the Blues *Various Artists: Art Deco: The Crooners *Various Artists: This Is Art Deco *Various Artists: Now That's Chicago! *Various Artists: Swing Time! The Fabulous Big Band Era 1925-1955 Brooks' world music projects include the Sony Legacy reissue " Cuban Music: 1909-1951" and the

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

compilation "From Avenue A to the Great White Way." He also specialized in identifying obscure pre-1950 recordings and served as the project manager on the 19-hour PBS

Ken Burns Kenneth Lauren Burns (born July 29, 1953) is an American filmmaker known for his documentary film, documentary films and television series, many of which chronicle United States, American History of the United States, history and Culture of the ...

Presents Jazz compilation series of 22 single-discs, as well as a five-disc box set historical summary.

Awards

Brooks has been nominated for

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

awards 16 times. His Grammy awards wins include: *1978: Historical Reissue, ''The Lester Young Story, Vol. 3'' *1978:

Album Notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desce ...

, ''A

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

Collection, Volumes 1 and 2'' *1979: Historical Reissue, Billie Holiday, ''Giants of Jazz'' *1981: Historical Reissue, Hoagy Carmichael, ''From Stardust to Ole Buttermilk Sky'' *2001: Historical Reissue, Louis Armstrong, ''The Complete Hot Five and Hot Seven Recordings'' *2002: Historical Reissue, ''Lady Day: The Complete Billie Holiday on Columbia 1933-1944''

References

Sources

*http://www.grammy.com *http://www.legacyrecordings.com/ *http://www.legacyrecordings.com/Billie-Holiday/Lady-Day-The-Complete-Billie-Holiday-On-Columbia-1933-1944.aspx *https://web.archive.org/web/20080416231035/http://www.allaboutjazz.com/artists/jhammond.htm *https://web.archive.org/web/20050122004115/http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=1488 *http://www.organissimo.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=11283 {{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Michael 1935 births 2020 deaths American music historians American record producers Grammy Award winners American archivists English emigrants to the United States 21st-century American historians 21st-century American male writers American male non-fiction writers