Sinclair Traill

Eric Sinclair Traill (1905 – 11 January 1981)^[1] was a British publisher, chief editor, and music critic of jazz. His career began in 1946, when he launched Pick Up as a locus for serious jazz criticism in Britain.^[2] In May 1948, Traill, using his own money, founded Jazz Journal and, for the rest of his life, served as its editor in chief. Jazz historian Roberta Schwartz states that Jazz Journal was not a new publication, but rather a name change for Pick Up.^[3]

Affiliations

Traill was a founding director of Britain's "National Federation of Jazz Organizations," which had been formed under the auspices of Melody Maker in June 1948 to protect and further jazz interest in Britain. In March 1949, the directors of NFJO secured a promise from major record labels in Britain to make every effort to reissue re-released jazz. Traill, and another director, Max Jones, made sure the list included blues artists.^[4]

Selected publications

• Just Jazz, by Sinclair Traill & Gerald Lascelles, P. Davies (publisher), four editions

1. (1957) OCLC 2754341
2. (1958) OCLC 16770378
3. (1959) OCLC 222998
4. (1960) OCLC 5655524

• Concerning Jazz, by Sinclair Traill, Faber and Faber (publisher)

1. (1957) OCLC 851241
2. (1957) OCLC 642055727
3. (1958) OCLC 723492538
4. (1957) OCLC 504419811
5. (1957) OCLC 753020307

• Play That Music: A Guide To Playing Jazz, edited by Sinclair Traill, The Jazz Book Club via Faber and Faber (publisher) (1958) OCLC 2199980

References

General references

1. The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, edited by Barry Dean Kernfeld (born 1950), St. Martin's Press, New York (1994)
2. The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, Second edition, Three volumes, Barry Dean Kernfeld (born 1950), Macmillan Publishers, London (2002)
3. International Who's Who in Music and Musicians' Directory, Eighth edition, International Who's Who in Music, Cambridge, England (1977)
4. International Who's Who in Music and Musicians' Directory, Ninth edition, edited by Adrian Gaster (1919–1989), International Who's Who in Music, Cambridge, England (1980)
5. The Writers Directory, Third edition, 1976-1978, St. Martin's Press, New York
6. The Writers Directory, Fourth edition, 1980-1982, St. Martin's Press, New York
7. The Writers Directory, Fifth edition, 1982-1984, Gale Research, Detroit (1981)
8. The International Authors and Writers Who's Who, Eighth edition, edited by Adrian Gaster (1919–1989), International Biographical Centre, Cambridge, England (1977)
9. The International Authors and Writers Who's Who, Ninth edition, edited by Adrian Gaster (1919–1989), International Biographical Centre, Cambridge, England (1982)
10. The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, First edition, Two volumes, edited by Barry Dean Kernfeld (born 1950), Macmillan Press, London (1988)

Inline citations

1. Death Notice: Sinclair Traill, The Times (London), June 13, 1981
2. Roberta Freund Schwartz, How Britain Got the Blues: The Transmission and Reception of American Blues, pg. 25, Ashgate Publishing (1988) ISBN 9780754655800
3. Schwartz, pg. 25
4. Schwartz, pg. 29