Life and career

Sidran was raised in Racine, Wisconsin, and attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1961, where he became a member of The Ardells along with Steve Miller and Boz Scaggs. When Miller and Scaggs left Wisconsin for the West Coast and stardom, Sidran stayed behind to earn a degree in English literature. After graduating in 1966, Sidran enrolled in the University of Sussex, England, to pursue a PhD degree in American Studies.

Sidran rejoined Miller in an English recording studio the next year, playing on the 1968 album Children of the Future. While in England, Sidran was a session musician for artists who included Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones, Peter Frampton and Charlie Watts. Following the departure of Scaggs and Jim Peterman from Miller's band in 1969, Sidran joined as a full-time keyboardist, appearing on the albums Brave New World, Your Saving Grace, Number 5 and Recall the Beginning...A Journey from Eden. After a brief stint in Los Angeles, where he began his career as a recording artist (teamed with Scaggs and drummer Jim Keltner) and record producer, Sidran returned to Madison in 1971 and has kept the university town as a home-base ever since, playing often with such Madison-based talents as drummer Clyde Stubblefield and keyboardist-composer Leo Sidran, Sidran's son. Over the years, while continuing to travel, perform and produce, he taught courses at the university (on the business of music) and, beginning in 1981, hosted a variety of jazz programs for NPR (including the Peabody Award-winning Jazz Alive series) and for VH1 television (where his New Visions series in the early 1990s won the Ace Award.)

As a musician and a producer he has released 34 solo recordings and collaborated with jazz and pop artists who include Mose Allison, Van Morrison, Diana Ross, and Rickie Lee Jones. His written works include the book Black Talk (on the sociology of black music in America), the memoir A Life in the Music, Talking Jazz, a collection of his historic interviews with jazz musicians and There Was a Fire: Jews, Music and the American Dream, a cultural history of the Jewish contribution to American popular music during the 20th century and a finalist for the 2012 National Jewish Book Award.

Sidran has been referred to by the Chicago Sun Times as a "Renaissance man cast adrift in a modern world", and by The Times as "the first existential jazz rapper", in reference to his preferred mix of humorous, erudite commentary while playing grooves and bebop. He continues to lecture at universities, most recently on the subject of "Jews, Music and the American Dream".

Talking Jazz includes an 80-page booklet with essays from writers, critics and musicians, classic photos from Lee Tanner, and 24 compact discs featuring conversations with 60 jazz musicians, recorded during a five-year period for Sidran's award-winning NPR program Sidran on Record. The 24 CDs orchestrated by Sidran document the speaking voice of jazz musicians, including Miles Davis, Art Blakey, and others.

Discography

Year	Album	Label
1971	Feel Your Groove, with Blue Mitchell	Capitol/EMI
1972	I Lead a Life	Blue Thumb
1973	Puttin' in Time on Planet Earth	Blue Thumb
1974	Don't Let Go	Blue Thumb
1976	Free in America	Arista
1976	That's Life I guess	Bluebird/RCA
1977	The Doctor Is In	Arista
1978	A Little Kiss in the Night	Arista
1979	Live at Montreux	Arista
1980	The Cat and the Hat	Horizon Records
1981	Get to the Point	Polystar
1982	Old Songs for the New Depression	Island
1983	Bop City	Island / Go Jazz
1984	Live with Richard Davis
1985	On the Cool Side	Windham Hill
1986	Have You Met...Barcelona?	Orange Blue
1987	On the Live Side	Windham Hill/BMG
1988	Too Hot to Touch	Windham Hill/BMG
1990	Cool Paradise	Go Jazz
1994	Life's a Lesson	Go Jazz
1996	Mr. P's Shuffle	Go Jazz
1997	Go Jazz All-Stars	Go Jazz
1998	Live at Celebrity Lounge	Go Jazz
1999	The Concert for García Lorca	Go Jazz
2002	Walk Pretty: The Music of Alec Wilder	Go Jazz
2004	Nick's Bump	Nardis Records
2005	Bumpin' At The Sunside	Nardis
2006	Live à fip	Bonsai Music
2008	Cien Noches	Nardis
2009	Dylan Different	Nardis
2010	Dylan Different Live at the New Morning	Bonsai Music
2013	Don't Cry for No Hipster	Nardis
2015	Blue Camus	Nardis

[ Source: Wikipedia ]