b. 13 September 1914, London, England, d. 22 September 1994, Los Angeles, California, USA. After studying piano, Feather advanced his musical interests by teaching himself arranging and in the early 30s produced a number of record sessions, contributing charts and scores. Among the musicians for whom he worked in such capacities was Benny Carter and he was instrumental in persuading Henry Hall to hire Carter for the BBC Dance Orchestra. In the mid-30s Feather went to the USA and during the next decade he continued to work in record production, sometimes supplying original material for artists such as Louis Armstrong, Lionel Hampton (‘Blowtop Blues’) and Dinah Washington (‘Evil Gal Blues’). Feather also branched into concert promotion and produced numerous recording sessions. Additionally, he continued to compose songs for artists such as Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Cannonball Adderley and Sonny Stitt. Despite all these endeavours, most of his considerable efforts in the cause of jazz were gradually concentrated into writing on the subject for several magazines, including Esquire and DownBeat, and he also wrote a jazz column for the Los Angeles Times. He was the author of several jazz books, notably Encyclopedia Of Jazz and his autobiography, The Jazz Years: Ear Witness To An Era. He was also a frequent broadcaster on jazz on radio and television. His daughter Lorraine Feather is an accomplished singer and songwriter.