One of the world's #1 bebop fans, Ira Gitler's enthusiasm for the music has been a consistent feature of his prolific writing through the years. As a staff producer for Prestige during 1950-55, Gitler worked as a producer on many dates and generally wrote the colorful liner notes. He helped Leonard Feather out on his original Encyclopedia of Jazz and his role in subsequent Encyclopedias grew to the point where he received co-billing. Gitler was at one time an associate editor of Down Beat, he wrote for Metronome and has been a longtime contributor to Jazz Times. He has also taught jazz and written two classic books: Jazz Masters of the Forties and From Swing To Bop. ~ Scott Yanow, Rovi