JAZZ TROMBONIST AND JOURNALIST MIKE ZWERIN DIES AT 79

By Culturekiosque Staff

PARIS, 4 APRIL 2010 — Mike Zwerin, the Amercan jazz trombonist and journalist, died Friday in a Paris hospital after a long illness. He was 79. One of Miles Davis' early sidemen, notably on the seminal 1949 - 1950 album Birth of the Cool, Mike Zwerin had been jazz and rock critic at the International Herald Tribune for decades, one of the earliest contributors to Culturekiosque in Paris and later for Bloomberg News, which first reported his death.

The New York-born columnist, who had lived in France for over 35 years, was also the author of several books on jazz, including The Parisian Jazz Chronicles: An Improvisational Memoir (Yale University Press). The Culturekiosque jazz archives collect some of his best jazz CD and performance reviews, interviews, and other writings since the magazine's inception.

An astute reporter and a gifted stylist, Mike Zwerin was the recipient of the 2009 Jazz Journalists Association's award for Lifetime Achievement in Jazz Journalism. A few years earler, he had been made Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Minister of Culture. He is survived by his wife Martine and his son Benjamin, 34, a bass player and composer.

Related Culturekiosque Archives

Sons of Miles
A 41-part series (with photographs by Christian Rose) featuring personal reminiscences and interviews of Miles Davis and the leading jazz, rock and pop musicians he influenced during his long career, by Mike Zwerin, one of Miles' early sidemen in the nonet and later on the recording Birth of the Cool.

Mike Zwerin maintained a personal website at www.mikezwerin.com

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