Brian Morton (Scottish writer)
Encyclopedia
Brian Morton is a Scottish writer, journalist and broadcaster, mainly specialising in jazz and modern literature. Born in Paisley, near Glasgow and raised in Dunoon, Morton was educated at Edinburgh University
and taught in the late 1970s at the University of East Anglia
(under Malcolm Bradbury
) and the University of Tromsø
in Norway.
A former Literary Editor of The Times Higher Education Supplement
and contributor to The Times
, he went freelance about 1992, returning to a Scottish base at around the same time.
From 1992 to 1997 Morton was the main presenter of Impressions for Radio 3
, a fortnightly Jazz and improvised music programme. For more than a decade Morton was a familiar voice on music programmes and features on other arts related subjects on the London based BBC networks. For some years he was the presenter and producer of The Usual Suspects, subsequently The Brian Morton Show on BBC Radio Scotland
, until 2003 when he resigned after criticising the BBC's art coverage. He currently writes and farms on the West of Scotland, with his wife, landscape photographer Sarah MacDonald. They have one son. Morton also has two older daughters.
He is co-author (with the late Richard Cook
) of The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (formerly ...on CD), whose ninth edition (undertaken single-handed following Cook's premature death in 2007) was published at the end of October 2008. He is also the author of The Blackwell Guide to Recorded Contemporary Music (1996), which covers modern classical music. Morton was a frequent contributor to Jazz Review
magazine, and was briefly editor in 2008; the magazine was absorbed by Jazz Journal in 2009, for which Morton has written.
Morton's non-jazz books include translations from the Norwegian of Jonas Lie, Miles Davis
(Haus Publishing), Prince
: Thief in the Temple (Canongate Books) and Shostakovich
(Haus). A short biography of the writer Edgar Allan Poe
appeared in November 2009.
Brian Morton has been a 'Comment' columnist in the Scottish edition of the Observer newspaper and, like his American namesake, is an occasional contributor to The Nation
magazine. Morton holds an honorary D.Litt. from the University of St Andrews, awarded on St Andrews Day, 2000, for services to Scottish broadcasting and cultural life.
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
and taught in the late 1970s at the University of East Anglia
University of East Anglia
The University of East Anglia is a public research university based in Norwich, United Kingdom. It was established in 1963, and is a founder-member of the 1994 Group of research-intensive universities.-History:...
(under Malcolm Bradbury
Malcolm Bradbury
Sir Malcolm Stanley Bradbury CBE was an English author and academic.-Life:Bradbury was the son of a railwayman. His family moved to London in 1935, but returned to Sheffield in 1941 with his brother and mother...
) and the University of Tromsø
University of Tromsø
The University of Tromsø is the world's northernmost university. Located in the city of Tromsø, Norway, it was established in 1968, and opened in 1972. It is one of eight universities in Norway. The University of Tromsø is the largest research and educational institution in northern Norway...
in Norway.
A former Literary Editor of The Times Higher Education Supplement
The Times Higher Education Supplement
The Times Higher Education , formerly Times Higher Education Supplement , is a weekly British magazine based in London reporting specifically on news and other issues related to higher education...
and contributor to The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, he went freelance about 1992, returning to a Scottish base at around the same time.
From 1992 to 1997 Morton was the main presenter of Impressions for Radio 3
BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music and opera, but jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation...
, a fortnightly Jazz and improvised music programme. For more than a decade Morton was a familiar voice on music programmes and features on other arts related subjects on the London based BBC networks. For some years he was the presenter and producer of The Usual Suspects, subsequently The Brian Morton Show on BBC Radio Scotland
BBC Radio Scotland
BBC Radio Scotland is BBC Scotland's national English-language radio network. It broadcasts a wide variety of programming, including news, sport, light entertainment, music, the arts, comedy, drama, history and lifestyle...
, until 2003 when he resigned after criticising the BBC's art coverage. He currently writes and farms on the West of Scotland, with his wife, landscape photographer Sarah MacDonald. They have one son. Morton also has two older daughters.
He is co-author (with the late Richard Cook
Richard Cook
Richard David Cook was a British jazz writer, magazine editor and former record company executive.Sometimes credited as R. D. Cook, Cook was born in Kew, Surrey and lived in west London as an adult. He was co-author, with Brian Morton, of The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings , now in its ninth...
) of The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (formerly ...on CD), whose ninth edition (undertaken single-handed following Cook's premature death in 2007) was published at the end of October 2008. He is also the author of The Blackwell Guide to Recorded Contemporary Music (1996), which covers modern classical music. Morton was a frequent contributor to Jazz Review
Jazz Review
Jazz Review was a British jazz magazine, founded in 1998 by a former editor of The Wire and jazz writer Richard Cook and Roger Spence of the talent management agency Direct Music. The magazine covered the entire range of jazz history from early jazz, through Swing to Bebop, Modern Jazz and the...
magazine, and was briefly editor in 2008; the magazine was absorbed by Jazz Journal in 2009, for which Morton has written.
Morton's non-jazz books include translations from the Norwegian of Jonas Lie, Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
(Haus Publishing), Prince
Prince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
: Thief in the Temple (Canongate Books) and Shostakovich
Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich was a Soviet Russian composer and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century....
(Haus). A short biography of the writer Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
appeared in November 2009.
Brian Morton has been a 'Comment' columnist in the Scottish edition of the Observer newspaper and, like his American namesake, is an occasional contributor to The Nation
The Nation
The Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...
magazine. Morton holds an honorary D.Litt. from the University of St Andrews, awarded on St Andrews Day, 2000, for services to Scottish broadcasting and cultural life.