Stanley Crouch

Jazz Critic and Writer Class of 1993
location icon Location
New York, New York
age iconAge
48 at time of award
age iconDate Deceased
September 16, 2020

About Stanley's Work

Stanley Crouch is a critic, a writer, a playwright, and a director whose work draws upon his identity as an American.

Crouch grew up immersed in African-American music, and in the late 1960s he played drums in jazz ensembles.  His jazz criticism represents the spirit of both European modernism and African-American musical tradition; and he is known for his independent views on literary, political, and racial issues.

Biography

His works include Notes of a Hanging Judge (1990), The All-American Skin Game (1995), Always in Pursuit: Fresh American Perspectives (1998), Don’t the Moon Look Lonesome (2000), and The Artificial White Man: Essays on Authenticity (2004).  Crouch has written for and acted with the Watts Repertory Company, and has been the artistic consultant for jazz at the Lincoln Center since 1987.  He has been a regular contributor to the Village Voice ,the Soho Weekly News, the New York Daily News, the New Republic, and the online magazine, Slate.

Crouch was affiliated with the Claremont Colleges as both poet-in-residence and as the first full-time faculty member of its Black Studies Center (1968-75), a period when he also wrote and directed nine plays.

Last updated January 1, 2005

Published on July 1, 1993

Select News Coverage of Stanley Crouch