Derek Jewell, (1927 – 21 November 1985) was a British journalist, newspaper executive, broadcaster and music critic. A music critic for the London '' Sunday Times'' for twenty-three years from 1963, Jewell wrote extensively about

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

, and also introduced British audiences to avant garde jazz, rock and improvisational music, especially through live performances on his BBC Radio 3 show ''Sounds Interesting''.

Career

He was born in London and educated at Latymer School, followed by

Wadham College Wadham College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy W ...

, Oxford. In 1950 he became a graduate trainee on the ''

Liverpool Daily Post The ''Liverpool Post'' was a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. The newspaper and its website ceased publication on 19 December 2013. Until 13 January 2012 it was a daily morning newspaper, with the ti ...

''. By 1959 he was assistant editor in 1959, writing on sport and popular music. In 1962 he joined the '' Sunday Times'' as personal assistant to the editor, and was later assistant editor, executive editor – ''Sunday Times Magazine'', deputy editor and finally publishing director, besides (from 1963) writing on jazz and pop/rock music.

Writer

In addition to producing columns of music criticism for the ''Sunday Times'' (he also wrote periodically for the now-defunct ''

Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'' appeared first on Saturday 14 May 1842, as the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. Founded by Herbert Ingram, it appeared weekly until 1971, then less frequently thereafter, and ceased publication i ...

''), Jewell was the author of a number of books about popular music including ''The Popular Voice'' (1980), ''Duke – A Portrait of Duke Ellington'' (1977), and ''Frank Sinatra'' (co-written with George Perry, 1985). He collaborated with his wife, Elizabeth Jewell, on a series of ''Sunday Times'' crossword collections and wrote two novels, ''Come In Number One, Your Time Is Up'' (1971) and ''Sellout'' (1973).

Broadcaster

Created in 1967, BBC Radio 3 was dedicated primarily to broadcasting live and recorded performances of classical music. Derek Jewell hosted what was known as the only "rock" show on the radio station, the weekly ''Sounds Interesting''. The show was broadcast each Saturday late afternoon with its theme music ''Soul Saga (the sound of the buffalo soldier)'' recorded by

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

. In addition to rock music, Jewell hosted performers playing a wide range of experimental and even improvisational music. In 1975 he interviewed Rick Wakeman.

References

External links

* '' Billboard'' (7 December 1985) – brief obituary. 1927 births 1985 deaths British music critics Alumni of Wadham College, Oxford {{UK-nonfiction-writer-stub