Michael Brooks (music historian)

Michael Brooks (1935 – November 20, 2020) was a British-born music historian, archivist, consultant, and producer.[1]

Biography

Brooks was born in Tooting, London, and moved to New York City in 1966.[2] He began his music career in 1971, assisting and producing records with John Hammond of Columbia Records. This collaboration resulted in many reissues of jazz, pop, big band, and country music artifacts, currently on the Legacy Recordings label. In later life Brooks worked at Sony Music Entertainment as a consultant.

He died in November 2020, aged 85.[2]

Discography

Brooks' credits on many various projects include the following:

Producer

Liner Notes
  • Billie Holiday: Billie Holiday Collection, Vol. 1
  • Billie Holiday: Billie Holiday Collection, Vol. 2
  • Billie Holiday: Billie Holiday Collection, Vol. 3
  • Billie Holiday: Billie Holiday Collection, Vol. 4
  • Lester Young: Evening of a Basie-ite PREZ
  • Bix Beiderbecke: Vol. 1: Singin' the Blues
  • Various Artists: Art Deco: The Crooners
  • Various Artists: This Is Art Deco
  • Various Artists: Now That's Chicago!
  • Various Artists: Swing Time! The Fabulous Big Band Era 1925-1955

Brooks' world music projects include the Sony Legacy reissue "Cuban Music: 1909-1951" and the Yiddish compilation "From Avenue A to the Great White Way." He also specialized in identifying obscure pre-1950 recordings and served as the project manager on the 19-hour PBS Ken Burns Presents Jazz compilation series of 22 single-discs, as well as a five-disc box set historical summary.

Awards

Brooks has been nominated for Grammy awards 16 times. His Grammy awards wins include:

References
  1. Bebco, John. "Producer and Jazz Historian Michael Brooks has Died". Syncopatedtimes.com. Retrieved 2020-11-24.
  2. Xan Brooks, "Michael Brooks Obituary", The Guardian, 29 November 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2020

Sources
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