Derek Jewell

Derek Jewell, (1927 – 21 November 1985) was a British writer, broadcaster and music critic. A music critic for the London Sunday Times for twenty-three years, Jewell wrote extensively about jazz, and also introduced British audiences to avant garde jazz, rock and improvisational music, especially through live performances on his BBC Radio show, Sounds Interesting.

Writer

In addition to producing columns of music criticism for the Sunday Times (he also wrote periodically for the now-defunct Illustrated London News), Jewell was the author of a number of books about popular music including The Popular Voice (1980), Duke – A Portrait of Duke Ellington (1977), and Frank Sinatra (co-written with George Perry, 1985). He collaborated with his wife, Elizabeth Jewell, on a series of Sunday Times crossword collections and wrote two novels, Come In Number One, Your Time Is Up (1971) and Sellout (1973).

Broadcaster

Created in 1967, BBC Radio 3 was dedicated primarily to broadcasting live and recorded performances of classical music. Derek Jewell hosted what was known as the only "rock" show on the radio station, the weekly Sounds Interesting, although in addition to rock, Jewell hosted performers playing a wide range of experimental and even improvisational music.

References

Billboard (7 December 1985) – brief obituary.