Nate Chinen
Editorial DirectorNate Chinen has been writing about music for more than 25 years. He spent a dozen of them working as a critic for The New York Times, and helmed a long-running column for JazzTimes. As Editorial Director at WRTI, he oversees a range of classical and jazz coverage, and contributes regularly to NPR.
A 13-time winner of the Helen Dance–Robert Palmer Award for Excellence in Writing, presented by the Jazz Journalists Association, Nate is the author of Playing Changes: Jazz For the New Century, recognized as one of the best books of 2018 by NPR, GQ, Billboard and JazzTimes. He is also coauthor of Myself Among Others: A Life in Music, the award-winning 2003 autobiography of festival impresario and producer George Wein.
Nate maintains a newsletter, The Gig, at Substack. His work also appears in Best Music Writing 2011, Pop When the World Falls Apart: Music in the Shadow of Doubt (Duke University Press, 2012), and Miles Davis: The Complete Illustrated History (Voyageur Press, 2012).
Born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, Nate started his career as a music critic in 1996, at the Philadelphia City Paper. There he covered one of the great jazz cities at ground level, writing a steady stream of reviews and features, along with a biweekly column.
He moved to New York City in 1998, and began writing for a range of publications, including DownBeat, Blender, and Vibe. For several years he was the jazz critic for Weekend America, a syndicated radio program. He covered jazz for the Village Voice from 2003 through 2005, when he became a regular contributor toThe New York Times. Around the same time, he started his monthly JazzTimes column, The Gig, which ran in 125 consecutive installments.
From 2017 until August 2022, Nate was Director of Editorial Content at Newark Public Radio — managing the full spectrum of editorial coverage at wbgo.org, and serving as a consulting producer for Jazz Night in America, a multimedia program hosted by Christian McBride. He also joined radio veteran Greg Bryant there as co-creator and co-host of Jazz United, which won the JJA’s award for Podcast of the Year in each of its two seasons.
Nate lives in Wynnewood, PA with his wife and two daughters.
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As we turn the corner toward Valentine's Day, Moment's Notice has your assortment of luxurious musical treats, handpicked by WRTI.
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"The best thing about the Grammys is that we’re all together," Toyin Spellman-Diaz, oboist in Imani Winds, said while accepting an award. Her pronouncement rings true in light of the breadth of classical artists in this year's winners circle.
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Faces both fresh and familiar made up the winner’s circle for jazz at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards. WRTI's Nate Chinen runs down the results.
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Moment's Notice is stacked this week, with Mary Halvorson's Amaryllis, Nels Cline Consentrik Quartet, Ethnic Heritage Ensemble, Minas and more.
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This week in Moment's Notice: a Brad Mehldau solo recital, Peter Evans Being & Becoming, Marlon Simon and the Nagual Spirits, and more.
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For a Max Roach centenary, there's no better guest than Nasheet Waits.
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Moment's Notice this week includes the Grammy-winning Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, the exploratory trio Nite Bjuti, and more.
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In its 125th season, The Philadelphia Orchestra will offer a healthy dose of Mahler, a handful of premieres, and works by composers of color.
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In Moment's Notice this week: the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, organist Brian Charette, saxophonist Anthony Braxton and more.
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WRTI's editorial director has been going to Winter Jazzfest in New York for 20 years. He picked a baker's dozen highlights from the coming weekend.