Nat Hentoff

2017 got off to a rocky start with the passing of one of one of country's most prolific and favorite writers: Nat Hentoff. I was a fan of this knowledgeable and thoughtful "soldier of the pen" for as long as I can remember. Hentoff first came to my attention in his capacity as a jazz writer/critic. (He had his own column for the Village Voice for over 50 years.)  I was always fascinated by Hentoff's seeming endless wealth of knowledge about many of the world's great jazz performers, including Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Theolonius Monk and Charles Mingus, to name a few. His insight always seemed spot-on.

At some point, I could help but notice that the Hentoff byline kept popping up in areas outside of music: free speech issues, politics, social commentary. Is there anything this guy does not know about?, I remember pondering on more than one occasion. Of course, Hentoff himself would probably smile at such a comment and shrug, "Plenty." But that sure did not jive with my assessment of him. He was steadfast in his defense of free speech, inspirational in his views on civil rights, and provocative in his observations on the politics of the day, including that the soon-to-be ex-President Obama should be impeached due to his over-the-top use of executive orders.

Hentoff died at the age of 91. Whether it was through his many commentaries or books, it is difficult to remember a time when his "voice" was not part of the national landscape.  Whether it was found in publications viewed to be conservative or liberal, Hentoff seemed to be everywhere on a very consistent basis. He was living proof that solid and thoughtful writing will always have place in the world. Certainly not me and many others did not always agree with him, but what Hentoff communicated was worthy of consideration. In a basic way, is that not the ultimate when it comes to communication? For that, we had and will continue to have Hentoff to thank.