Will Friedwald (born September 16, 1961) is an American author and music critic. He has written for newspapers that include the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Village Voice, Newsday, New York Observer, and New York Sun – and for magazines that include Entertainment Weekly, Oxford American, New York, Mojo, BBC Music Magazine, Stereo Review, Fi, and American Heritage.

Selected works

Books

As main author

  1. (1995). Charles Scribner's Sons – via Google Books. OCLC.(this book won the 1996 ASCAP Deems Taylor Award for Excellence in Music Criticism)
  2. (1990). Charles Scribner's Sons. 1990. ISBN978-0-684-18522-4 – via Internet Archive. LCCN; OCLC.
  3. Stardust Melodies – The Biography of Twelve of America's Most Popular Songs. (2002). Pantheon Books. ISBN978-0-375-42089-4 – via Internet Archive. OCLC. eBook (2013); OCLC.
  4. Pantheon Books (2010); OCLC.
  5. The Great Jazz and Pop Vocal Albums (1st ed.), Pantheon (Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group) (2017); OCLC.

As co- and contributing-author

  1. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: An Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons (1st ed.), by Jerry Beck & Will Friedwald, Henry Holt and Company (1989); OCLC,
  2. Warner Bros. Animation Art – The Characters, the Creators, the Limited Editions, by Jerry Beck & Will Friedwald, Hugh Lauter Levin Associates (1997 & 2002); OCLC,
  3. The Good Life: The Autobiography of Tony Bennett, by Tony Bennett ("with Will Friedwald") Hardcover – Simon & Schuster (1998); OCLC Paperback – Pocket Books (1999); OCLC
  4. The Future of Jazz (1st ed.), Chicago: A Cappella Books (an imprint of Chicago Review Press (2002); OCLC, LCCN Co-authors: Will Friedwald, Ted Gioia, Jim Macnie (né James Richard Macnie; born approx. 1954), Peter Margasak (born 1966) (music writer with the Chicago Reader), Stuart Nicholson (de) (born 1948), Ben Ratliff, John F. Szwed, Greg Tate, Peter Watrous (né Peter Lagrange Watrous; born 1958) (jazz critic, formerly, from 1988 to 1999, of the New York Times), K. Leander Williams (né Kelvin Leander Williams; born 1963) (freelance journalist) Editor: Yuval J. Taylor (born 1963) (Taylor is the Senior Editor at the Chicago Review Press, where he has been since 1998)
  5. Playboy Swings: How Hugh Hefner and Playboy Changed the Face of Music, by Patty Farmer, contributions by Will Friedwald, New York: Beaufort Books Inc. (connected to Midpoint Trade Books) (2015); OCLC

Essays, articles

Journalism: print/online newspapers, magazines, and broadcasts

  1. "Fi Jazz – Jazz Reviews," Friedwald (one of 10 critics) review the CDs of 1997, Fi ("The Magazine of Music and Sound"), Vol. 3, No. 3, March 1998, p. 139; ISSN, LCCN
  2. "Louis Prima: He's So Delightfully Low," Oxford American, Issue 16 (launch of special annual issue: Southern Music, Vol. 1), Spring 1997, pp. 55–59; ISSN
  3. , New York Times, August 6, 1997
  4. (Peter Mintun), New York Sun, January 25, 2005
  5. American Heritage, Vol. 56, No. 1 (2005), pp. 22–29; OCLC, ISSN (publication)
  6. (subscription or fee required), Wall Street Journal, February 16, 2015(CD review: Judy Garland – Swan Songs, First Flights, Hallow Records DHR-00101-3, 2015; OCLC)"'Judy Garland: Swan Songs, First Flights' proves that at the end of her career, the singer still could reach down to the bottom of her soul and come up with something to dazzle and amaze" – Will Friedwald
  7. (profile of Scott Robinson) (subscription or fee required), Wall Street Journal, May 25, 2010
  8. Fresh Air, NPR, produced by WHYY-FM, Philadelphia: Terry Gross, host , September 24, 1997; OCLC , December 29, 1997; OCLC(ceremoniously re-aired on the eve of Sinatra's birth centennial), December 11, 2015(Friedwald, the first of three guests, describes Fred Astaire's singing ability), May 10, 1999; OCLC(Friedwald wrote liner notes for a new release, 10 CDs, The complete Columbia recordings of Mildred Bailey, Mosaic Records, 2000; OCLC), February 12, 2001; OCLC
  9. Weekend Edition, NPR, Scott Simon, host (death of Jimmy Scott – reflections – by NPR's Mandalit del Barco and guest, Friedwald), June 14, 2014
  10. All Things Considered, NPR (NPR host Noah Adams introduced the topic – Ellington's "Mood Indigo" and NPR's reporter, Lou Santacroce – who, in turn, gave a radio essay with guests David Baker, Ervin Drake, and Friedwald)(introduced by NPR host Andrea Seabrook, WNYC reporter Sara Fishko presents an interactive radio essay with guests C. Calloway Brooks, Cab's son, and Friedwald), December 22, 2007(NPR's Audie Cornish interviews Friedwald about his new book, Biographical Guide to the Great Jazz and Pop Singers), December 12, 2010

Liner notes

  1. Frank Sinatra – The Complete Capitol Singles Collection, Capitol Records (4 CD's) (1996); OCLC,

Family

Father: Herb Friedwald

Will Friedwald is the son of the late Herb Friedwald (né Herbert F. Friedwald; 1935–1997) who was a jazz producer, jazz historian, and record label lawyer in New York. Herb was the founder of the short-lived jazz label, Kharma Records. Among other pursuits, Herb wrote liner notes.

Selected liner notes of Herb Friedwald

  1. Peter Bocage with His Creole Serenaders and the Love-Jiles Ragtime Orchestra, Riverside RLP 357 & RLP 379, recorded June 12, 1960, and January 26, 1961, New Orleans; OCLC,
  2. The Orange Kellin Trio: Orange Kellin (né Örjan Kjellin; born 1944 Ljungby, Sweden) (clarinet), Jon Marks (piano), John Russell (drums), GBH BCD-384, recorded February 10, 1992, Litchfield, Connecticut

Notes

Reviews of Friedwald's work

Inline citations

Other external links

  • NAMM Oral History Library (2021)