Greg Tate, journalist, cultural critic and music has died.
He was 64.
The sad news was announced by Laura Sell, a spokeswoman for Duke University Press.
A spokesperson at Duke University Press, his publisher, confirmed the news. No further details were provided.
Tate rose to prominence as a staff writer for The Village Voice in the 1980s. His 1992 anthology, “Flyboy in the Buttermilk: Essays on Contemporary America,” and its 2016 sequel “Flyboy 2: The Greg Tate Reader” tackled issues of tackled race, politics, music and literature in a way that only Tate could.
He founded the Black Rock Coalition in 1985. The BRC was created “with the purpose of creating an atmosphere conducive to the maximum development, exposure and acceptance of Black alternative music. “
Tate would write for several respected publications throughout his career, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Vulture and Vibe. Tate served as the Louis Armstrong Visiting Professor at Columbia University’s Center for Jazz Studies and a lecturer at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles.
In an interview with the LA Review of Books, he explains why documenting “the biological and historical circumstances” that lead each artist to create their art is essential.
“They are powered by the ancestors,” said Tate. “I believe that. I just saw an interview with Ron Carter, who played with Miles. And they asked him, “What’s the one thing that you want people to know about your talent that you think they don’t understand?” Carter replied, “That this gift that I have came from God.” No follow-up on that. On to the next question.”
In 1999, Tate founded the avant-garde orchestra, Burnt Sugar. The collective’s most recent recording, titled “Angels Over Oakanda,” was released in September.
