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{{Short description|American music critic}}
{{Expand German|Martin Williams|date=April 2012}}
'''Martin Tudor Hansford Williams''' (9 August 1924 – 11 or 12 April 1992)<ref name="Grove Jazz" /> was an American jazz critic and writer.<ref name="Grove Jazz" /><ref name="Intl WW in Music, Directory" /><ref name="NGDAM" /><ref name="Grove94" />
'''Martin T. Williams''' (1924–1992) was born in [[Richmond, Virginia]]. Williams attended St. Christopher Episcopal Preparatory School. After his military service during World War II including Iwo Jima, he first studied law, then literature at the [[University of Virginia]] (BA 1948), at the [[University of Pennsylvania]] (MA 1950) and at [[Columbia University]]. He was a critic, specializing in [[jazz]] and [[United States|American]] popular culture. He wrote for major jazz magazines, notably ''[[Down Beat]]'', cofounded and coedited ''[[The Jazz Review]]'', and wrote many books on jazz, summing up his understanding of its history in ''The Jazz Tradition'' (1970). From 1971 to 1981 he directed the Jazz and American Culture programs at the [[Smithsonian Institution]], where he compiled ''[[The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz]]'' (1973), acquiring rights from all major record labels in order to produce a comprehensive historical anthology.


== Education and service in the armed forces ==
⚫
With animation historian [[Michael Barrier (historian)|Michael Barrier]], Williams co-edited ''A Smithsonian Book of Comic-Book Comics'' (1982).<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/1982/09/05/books/fun-horror-and-adventure.html "Fun, Horror and Adventure"], ''New York Times'', 5 September 1982</ref>
{{External links|date=April 2023}}
Williams was born in [[Richmond, Virginia]]. He attended [[St. Christopher's School, Richmond|St. Christopher Episcopal Preparatory School]], then entered the [[U.S. Army]] during [[World War II]]. After his military service during [[World War II]], which included combat in the [[Battle of Iwo Jima|battle of Iwo Jima]], Williams first studied law, then literature at the [[University of Virginia]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]] 1948), at the [[University of Pennsylvania]] ([[Master of Arts|MA]] 1950) and at [[Columbia University]].

== Career ==
Williams, beginning in the early 1950s, became a prolific jazz critic, contributing articles to ''[[Saturday Review (U.S. magazine)|The Saturday Review]],'' ''[[The New York Times]],'' ''[[Harper's Magazine]]'', ''[[Down Beat]]'', and ''[[The Jazz Review]]'', which he founded in November 1958 with [[Nat Hentoff]], which often featured contributions by jazz musicians, including [[Gunther Schuller]], [[Dick Katz]], and [[Cecil Taylor]]. ''[[The Jazz Review]]'' also featured contributions by other notable people, including [[Sheldon Mayer]] and [[Dan Morgenstern]].

Williams authored many books on jazz, a collection of sixteen essays, profiling jazz musicians, in a book titled ''The Jazz Tradition.''<ref name="Jazz Tradition" /> From 1971 to 1981 Williams headed the jazz and "American Culture Program" at the [[Smithsonian Institution]] in [[Washington D.C.]], where, in 1973, he compiled and wrote liner notes for ''[[The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz]].'' In 1983, he, [[Gunther Schuller]], and the Smithsonian — in collaboration with [[RCA Records]] — produced ''Big Band Jazz''.<ref name="Grove94"/><ref name="Baker's Bio Dict" /><ref name="WWIA" /><ref name="WWW in AM." /><ref name="Ann Obits, St. James" /><ref name="Contemp. Authors" /><ref name="Bio Index" /> With animation historian [[Michael Barrier (historian)|Michael Barrier]], Williams co-edited ''A Smithsonian Book of Comic-Book Comics'' (1982).<ref name="NYTs review 1982" />
==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist|30em|refs=

⚫
<ref name="NYTs review 1982">[https://www.nytimes.com/1982/09/05/books/fun-horror-and-adventure.html "Fun, Horror and Adventure"], ''New York Times'', 5 September 1982</ref>

<ref name="Intl WW in Music, Directory">''[[International Who's Who in Music|International Who's Who in Music and Musicians' Directory]],'' Adrian Gaster (1919–1989) (ed.), [[Cambridge, England]]: [[International Who's Who in Music]]<br>
{{Space|4}}10th ed. (1984); {{OCLC|11828662}}<br>
{{Space|4}}12th ed. (1990); {{OCLC|28065697}}</ref>

<ref name="NGDAM">''The New Grove Dictionary of American Music,'' (Williams is in Vol. 4 of 4), [[H. Wiley Hitchcock]] & [[Stanley Sadie]] (eds.), [[Macmillan Publishers]] (1986); (see ''[[Oxford Music Online]]''); {{OCLC|13184437}}, {{OCLC|230202868}}</ref>

<ref name="Grove Jazz">''The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz'', [[Barry Dean Kernfeld]], [[Stanley Sadie]] (eds.), [[Macmillan Press|Macmillan]]<br>
{{Space|4}}1st ed. (2 vols.) (1988); {{OCLC|16804283}}<br>
{{Space|4}}1st ed. (reissue, combining 2 vols.) (1994); {{OCLC|30516743}}<br>
{{Space|4}}2nd ed. (3 vols.) (2002); {{OCLC|46956628}}</ref>

<ref name="Grove94">Paula Morgan "Williams, Martin Tudor Hansford" in Barry Kernfeld (ed) ''The New Dictionary of Jazz'', New York & London: Macmillan & St Martin's Press, 1994 [1988], p.1294 & p.xxxii</ref>

<ref name="WWIA">''[[Who's Who in America]]'', [[Marquis Who's Who]]; {{ISSN|0083-9396}}<br>
{{Space|4}}38th ed., 1974–1975 (1974); {{OCLC|23953115}}<br>
{{Space|4}}39th ed., 1976–1977 (1976); {{OCLC|23953086}}<br>
{{Space|4}}40th ed., 1978–1979 (1978); {{OCLC|4199915}}<br>
{{Space|4}}41st ed., 1980–1981 (1980); {{OCLC|476716124}}<br>
{{Space|4}}42nd ed., 1982–1983 (1982); {{OCLC|8505742}}<br>
{{Space|4}}43rd ed., 1984–1985 (1984); {{OCLC|11330908}}<br>
{{Space|4}}46th ed., 1990–1991 (1990); {{OCLC|22631411}}</ref>

<ref name="WWW in AM.">''Who Was Who in America,'' Vol. 10, 1989–1993, [[Marquis Who's Who]] (1993); {{OCLC|27962202}}</ref>

<ref name="Ann Obits, St. James">''The Annual Obituary, 1992,'' [[Detroit]]: [[St. James Press]] (1993); {{OCLC|29247249}}</ref>

<ref name="Baker's Bio Dict">''[[Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians]]'' (Williams is in Vol. 6 of 6), [[Macmillan Publishers|Macmillan]]; [[G. Schirmer Inc.|Schirmer]]<br>
{{Space|4}}9th ed, Laura Diane Kuhn (ed.) (born 1953) (2001); {{OCLC|44972043}}</ref>

<ref name="Contemp. Authors">''Contemporary Authors,'' [[Gale Research]]<br>
{{Space|4}}Vols. 49–52 (1975); {{OCLC|123619198}}<br>
{{Space|4}}Vol. 137 (1992); {{OCLC|123619198}}</ref>

<ref name="Bio Index">''[[Biography Index]],'' [[H.W. Wilson Co.]]; {{ISSN|0006-3053}} (print media) & {{OCLC|54897719}} (online version)<br>
{{Space|4}}Vol. 17: Sep. 1990–Aug. 1992 (1992)<br>
{{Space|4}}Vol. 18: Sep. 1992–Aug. 1993 (1993); {{OCLC|59569808}}<br>
{{Space|4}}Vol. 19: Sep. 1993–Aug. 1994 (1994); {{OCLC|31703875}}</ref>

<ref name="Jazz Tradition">''The Jazz Tradition,'' Martin Williams, [[Oxford University Press]] (1970); {{OCLC|66266}}</ref>


{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
| NAME = Williams, Martin T.
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = American music critic
| DATE OF BIRTH = 1924
| PLACE OF BIRTH =
| DATE OF DEATH = 1992
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
}}

⚫
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Martin T.}}
== External links ==

* [https://digitalcommons.colum.edu/cmbr_guides/43/ Guide to the Martin Williams Collection], Center for Black Music Research, Columbia College Chicago
{{Authority control}}

⚫
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Martin}}
[[Category:1924 births]]
[[Category:1924 births]]
[[Category:1992 deaths]]
[[Category:1992 deaths]]
[[Category:American music critics]]
[[Category:American music critics]]
[[Category:Grammy Award-winning artists]]
[[Category:Grammy Award winners]]
[[Category:Jazz writers]]
[[Category:Jazz writers]]
[[Category:20th-century American non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:St. Christopher's School (Richmond, Virginia) alumni]]
[[Category:United States Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:University of Virginia alumni]]
[[Category:University of Pennsylvania alumni]]
[[Category:Columbia University alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century American journalists]]



{{US-music-journalist-stub}}
{{US-music-journalist-stub}}
{{US-journalist-1920s-stub}}

Latest revision as of 18:41, 9 November 2024

Martin Tudor Hansford Williams (9 August 1924 – 11 or 12 April 1992)[1] was an American jazz critic and writer.[1][2][3][4]

Education and service in the armed forces

[edit]

Williams was born in Richmond, Virginia. He attended St. Christopher Episcopal Preparatory School, then entered the U.S. Army during World War II. After his military service during World War II, which included combat in the battle of Iwo Jima, Williams first studied law, then literature at the University of Virginia (BA 1948), at the University of Pennsylvania (MA 1950) and at Columbia University.

Career

[edit]

Williams, beginning in the early 1950s, became a prolific jazz critic, contributing articles to The Saturday Review, The New York Times, Harper's Magazine, Down Beat, and The Jazz Review, which he founded in November 1958 with Nat Hentoff, which often featured contributions by jazz musicians, including Gunther Schuller, Dick Katz, and Cecil Taylor. The Jazz Review also featured contributions by other notable people, including Sheldon Mayer and Dan Morgenstern.

Williams authored many books on jazz, a collection of sixteen essays, profiling jazz musicians, in a book titled The Jazz Tradition.[5] From 1971 to 1981 Williams headed the jazz and "American Culture Program" at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C., where, in 1973, he compiled and wrote liner notes for The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz. In 1983, he, Gunther Schuller, and the Smithsonian — in collaboration with RCA Records — produced Big Band Jazz.[4][6][7][8][9][10][11] With animation historian Michael Barrier, Williams co-edited A Smithsonian Book of Comic-Book Comics (1982).[12]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, Barry Dean Kernfeld, Stanley Sadie (eds.), Macmillan
        1st ed. (2 vols.) (1988); OCLC 16804283
        1st ed. (reissue, combining 2 vols.) (1994); OCLC 30516743
        2nd ed. (3 vols.) (2002); OCLC 46956628
  2. ^ International Who's Who in Music and Musicians' Directory, Adrian Gaster (1919–1989) (ed.), Cambridge, England: International Who's Who in Music
        10th ed. (1984); OCLC 11828662
        12th ed. (1990); OCLC 28065697
  3. ^ The New Grove Dictionary of American Music, (Williams is in Vol. 4 of 4), H. Wiley Hitchcock & Stanley Sadie (eds.), Macmillan Publishers (1986); (see Oxford Music Online); OCLC 13184437, OCLC 230202868
  4. ^ a b Paula Morgan "Williams, Martin Tudor Hansford" in Barry Kernfeld (ed) The New Dictionary of Jazz, New York & London: Macmillan & St Martin's Press, 1994 [1988], p.1294 & p.xxxii
  5. ^ The Jazz Tradition, Martin Williams, Oxford University Press (1970); OCLC 66266
  6. ^ Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians (Williams is in Vol. 6 of 6), Macmillan; Schirmer
        9th ed, Laura Diane Kuhn (ed.) (born 1953) (2001); OCLC 44972043
  7. ^ Who's Who in America, Marquis Who's Who; ISSN 0083-9396
        38th ed., 1974–1975 (1974); OCLC 23953115
        39th ed., 1976–1977 (1976); OCLC 23953086
        40th ed., 1978–1979 (1978); OCLC 4199915
        41st ed., 1980–1981 (1980); OCLC 476716124
        42nd ed., 1982–1983 (1982); OCLC 8505742
        43rd ed., 1984–1985 (1984); OCLC 11330908
        46th ed., 1990–1991 (1990); OCLC 22631411
  8. ^ Who Was Who in America, Vol. 10, 1989–1993, Marquis Who's Who (1993); OCLC 27962202
  9. ^ The Annual Obituary, 1992, Detroit: St. James Press (1993); OCLC 29247249
  10. ^ Contemporary Authors, Gale Research
        Vols. 49–52 (1975); OCLC 123619198
        Vol. 137 (1992); OCLC 123619198
  11. ^ Biography Index, H.W. Wilson Co.; ISSN 0006-3053 (print media) & OCLC 54897719 (online version)
        Vol. 17: Sep. 1990–Aug. 1992 (1992)
        Vol. 18: Sep. 1992–Aug. 1993 (1993); OCLC 59569808
        Vol. 19: Sep. 1993–Aug. 1994 (1994); OCLC 31703875
  12. ^ "Fun, Horror and Adventure", New York Times, 5 September 1982
[edit]


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