“As late as the early '50s, jazz was still, for the most part, a genuinely popular music, a utilitarian, song-based idiom to which ordinary people could dance if they felt like it.”

American author, critic, biographer, playwright, stage director, and librettist

Terrance Alan Teachout was an American author, critic, biographer, playwright, stage director, and librettist. He wrote widely about the arts and worked across several forms, including criticism, biography, theatre, and opera. Teachout is known for his work as a cultural critic and writer, with a career that ranged from books and essays to plays and stage work. His writing and creative work often reflected close attention to performance and the arts.