Leonard Feather

British-born jazz pianist, composer, author, critic & producer.
Born 13 Sept. 1914 in London, England - died 22 Sept. 1994 in Sherman Oaks, Ca., USA.
After studying piano and clarinet at St. Paul’s School and University College, London he embarked on a career as a jazz performer and songwriter. He moved to New York City in 1939. For decades, Feather was the most widely read writer on jazz. He compiled "The New Encyclopedia of Jazz" (1960, with Ira Gitler), later volumes on jazz in the 1950s and 1960s, eventually becoming "The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz" (1999), was co-editor for Metronome magazine, associate editor for DownBeat magazine (creating its Blindfold Test) and chief jazz critic for the Los Angeles Times, having settled in the city in 1960, a post he retained until his death.
Married to Jane Feather and father of Lorraine Feather.