Richard Cook 1957-2007
Richard Cook (1957-2007)THE DEATH of Richard Cook at the age of 49 robs us of one of the finest writers UK music journalism has produced. He was probably the most knowledgeable and erudite jazz critic we've had on this side of the Atlantic, and the Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (co-written with Brian Morton) remains an essential part of any self-respecting music library.I knew Richard well when we both wrote for the NME of the early-to-mid-'80s. He came into the paper as a jazz specialist but quickly established himself as one of its true stylists, penning reviews as trenchant as they were subtle, and conducting droll, revealing interviews. He was an anomalous character at the paper's Carnaby Street offices, invariably appearing in a white mackintosh and eschewing the sex/drugs/rock'n'roll attitude of many of his colleagues. "I like horse racing," he said in a 2003 interview with allaboutjazz.com, "and, like any proper Englishman, cricket." Before he was even 30 Richard was an exemplary curmudgeon."I think writing about music is one of the hardest things you can do," he told All About Jazz. "Describing a piece of music in a way which isn't either cliché-ridden or merely fanciful is desperately difficult. I suppose if I have any advice to offer, it's the simple truth that you have to listen properly, and hard, and ask yourself what's going on and why." Richard never did less than that.We've put together a small tribute to Richard on Rock's Backpages, at , featuring a selection of his pieces for NME, MOJO, and The Wire (which he edited for several years). Whether it was Charlie Parker or the Police, Frank Sinatra or Scott Walker, Richard wrote brilliantly about all the music he heard.
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