Gene Lees

Frederick Eugene John Lees (February 8, 1928 – April 22, 2010) was a Canadian music critic, biographer, lyricist, and journalist. Lees worked as a newspaper journalist in his native Canada before moving to the United States, where he was a music critic and lyricist. His lyrics for Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Corcovado" (released as "Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars"), have been recorded by such singers as Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Queen Latifah, and Diana Krall.

Biography Born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, Lees was the eldest of four children born to Harold Lees, a violinist, and Dorothy Flatman. His sister, Victoria Lees, is the former Secretary General of Montreal's McGill University, and his brother, David Lees, is an investigative journalist and science writer.

As a freelance writer, Lees wrote for the American high fidelity magazines Stereo Review and High Fidelity (often using his column to defend jazz and older popular music while blasting "that rock junk"), the Canadian magazine Maclean's, the Toronto Star, the Toronto Globe and Mail, and The New York Times. His wife, Janet, planned to continue the Jazzletter after his death, but this did not materialize. She died in 2013.