Mike Zwerin, a jazz trombonist who became a prominent jazz critic and author, died Friday in Paris after a long illness. He was 79.
When he was 18, nervously sitting in with Art Blakeys group at Mintons Playhouse, in Harlem, Mr. Zwerin was noticed by the trumpeter Miles Davis, who complimented the young player and used him briefly in his nonet at the Royal Roost, a New York club.
Mr. Zwerin later played with the big bands of Maynard Ferguson and Claude Thornhill. But it was as a critic and author that he made his mark on jazz.
Mr. Zwerin was the jazz columnist for The Village Voice in New York from 1964 until 1969, then moved to Europe and served as the papers European editor until 1971. He also wrote for Rolling Stone and other magazines.
He became a music critic in 1979 for The International Herald Tribune in Paris. In 2005 he became a music critic for Bloomberg News.
When he was 18, nervously sitting in with Art Blakeys group at Mintons Playhouse, in Harlem, Mr. Zwerin was noticed by the trumpeter Miles Davis, who complimented the young player and used him briefly in his nonet at the Royal Roost, a New York club.
Mr. Zwerin later played with the big bands of Maynard Ferguson and Claude Thornhill. But it was as a critic and author that he made his mark on jazz.
Mr. Zwerin was the jazz columnist for The Village Voice in New York from 1964 until 1969, then moved to Europe and served as the papers European editor until 1971. He also wrote for Rolling Stone and other magazines.
He became a music critic in 1979 for The International Herald Tribune in Paris. In 2005 he became a music critic for Bloomberg News.
