One of the truly important figures in jazz literature has passed away. Brian Rust died peacefully in his sleep at the age of 88 on January 5, 2011. Although I only have the story directly from a friend of Brian's, he had been in declining health for several years, and was unaware of his surroundings near the end.
Rust wrote several fundamental, essential jazz and vintage popular music discographies, thousands of liner notes for LP/CD, and worked tirelessly to promote vintage music for decades.
His relevance to this site: Brian hosted a wonderful and educational Capital Radio program called "Mardi Gras - A Carnival Of Vintage Popular Music & All That Jazz", which ran for over a decade until 1984. His no-nonsense, direct approach - and his candid musical opinions & viewpoints - was minimalist; he featured the real star of his programs - the music - far more than feeling he had to pontificate at length. Those of us who were broadcasters of vintage music will miss him very much, and we will always be in his debt.
Rust wrote several fundamental, essential jazz and vintage popular music discographies, thousands of liner notes for LP/CD, and worked tirelessly to promote vintage music for decades.
His relevance to this site: Brian hosted a wonderful and educational Capital Radio program called "Mardi Gras - A Carnival Of Vintage Popular Music & All That Jazz", which ran for over a decade until 1984. His no-nonsense, direct approach - and his candid musical opinions & viewpoints - was minimalist; he featured the real star of his programs - the music - far more than feeling he had to pontificate at length. Those of us who were broadcasters of vintage music will miss him very much, and we will always be in his debt.