Ken Vail

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Ken Vail (born January 25, 1939 , † January 17, 2013 in Cambridge ) was a British jazz journalist.

Vail, who worked full-time as a graphic designer in Cambridge , published the pictorial chronicle Jazz Milestones in 1993 , which represented the annual events in jazz, births, days of death, recordings, compositions, films and books as well as the most important locations. In the following years he put the UK's book series The Jazz Itineraries (dt. The Jazz travel diaries ) before that on Vails precursor series Jazz Diaries built, career chronicles famous jazz musicians such as Billie Holiday , Count Basie , Ella Fitzgerald , Duke Ellington and Miles Davis . Vail, who designed his own books, also worked with the Duke Ellington Society of the UK and Roger Boyes, editor of Blue Light magazine . Vail died in January 2013 at his home Cambridge from the effects of bone cancer disease infection.

Publications (selection)

  • Jazz Milestones: A Pictorial Chronicle of Jazz 1900-1990: Chessington: Castle Communications, 1993. ISBN 9781860740503
  • Bird's Diary: The Life of Charlie Parker 1945-55 (Sanctuary, 1996)
  • Lady Day's Diary: The Life of Billie Holiday 1937-59 (Sanctuary, 1999) ISBN 1-86074-131-2
  • Miles' Diary: The Life of Miles Davis 1947-61 (1997) ISBN 9781860741593
  • Duke's Diary: Part I: The Life of Duke Ellington 1927-1950 (2002)
  • Duke's Diary: Part Two: The Life of Duke Ellington 1950-1974 (2002)
  • Dizzy Gillespie: The Bebop Years 1937-1952: Ken Vail's Jazz Itineraries 1 (2003)
  • Itineraries: Pt. 2: Ella Fitzgerald - The Chick Webb Years and Beyond 1935-1948 (2003)
  • Count Basie: Swingin 'the Blues 1936-1950 - Ken Vail's Jazz Itineraries 3 (2003)
  • Swing Era Scrapbook: The Teenage Diaries and Radio Logs of Bob Inman, 1936-1938 (2006)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Obituary at London Jazz
  2. ^ The International DEMS Bulletin - Duke Ellington Music Society
personal data
SURNAME Vail, Ken
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Vail, Kenneth
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British jazz journalist
DATE OF BIRTH January 25, 1939
DATE OF DEATH 17th January 2013
Place of death near Cambridge , England