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

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

Early life

Frazier was raised in

South Boston South Boston (colloquially known as Southie) is a densely populated neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, located south and east of the Fort Point Channel and abutting Dorchester Bay (Boston Harbor), Dorchester Bay. It has under ...

, attended the

Boston Latin School The Boston Latin School is a Magnet school, magnet Latin schools, Latin Grammar schools, grammar State school, state school in Boston, Massachusetts. It has been in continuous operation since it was established on April 23, 1635. It is the old ...

, and was graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

(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 gentleman ...

'' 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 conservative 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 awarde ...

'' 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,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

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

Down Beat ''DownBeat'' (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 that it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1 ...

'', he was known for his arch style, acerbic wit, erudite Olympian pronouncements on men's fashion, and general '' je ne sais quoi''. Frazier wrote the song "Harvard Blues" (music by Tab Smith), 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 The master list of Nixon's political opponents was a secret list compiled by US President Richard Nixon's Presidential Counselor Charles Colson. It was an expansion of the original Nixon's Enemies List of 20 key people considered opponents of ...

Quotes

Links to writings by Frazier

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

'' magazine, September 1960 * , 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