Journalist and author, b. 1968, New York, NY; lives in Bronx, NY.
Journalist and Authob. New York City 1968; raised in New York, London, and Rockland County, NY. B.A. in Classics, Columbia College, 1990. Lives in Bronx, NY.
Jazz and pop critic for the New York Times 1996-2016.
Author of five books: Run the Song: Writing About Running About Listening (2025); Every Song Ever: Twenty Ways to Listen in an Age of Musical Plenty (2016); The Jazz Ear: Conversations Over Music (2008); Coltrane: The Story of a Sound (2007); Jazz: A Critic’s Guide to the 100 Most Important Recordings (2002).
Editor of Nik Cohn’s Corner Boy: Loiterings New and Old (October 2026, Ze Books).
Other writing for New York Review of Books, 4Columns, Pitchfork, npr.org, Slate, Rolling Stone, Esquire, Guardian, Village Voice, Coda, Granta, Bookforum, Jazz Times, Wire, a.o.
Clinical Associate Professor at NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study.
photo by Gus Aronson