SC

Let's say goodbye to Stanley Crouch, one of the great jazz and social critics of the day. (I'd link to him, but the new template makes it almost impossible to do anything.  Why a new template was created that makes everything worse I cannot understand.  I also don't seem to be able to embed a photo.)

He could be a grouchy voice, and was tough to please, but I always looked forward to reading him in the Village Voice.  (At least I can put things in italics.)

While he fought passionately for civil rights, he was a rare African-American writer who wasn't afraid to take on other prominent African-Americans.  He couldn't be cowed.  And--I always assumed it was the jazz fan in him--he hated gangsta rap.  (For that matter, he was a purist who hated most modern jazz.)

In an age when so much social criticism seems shallow and ill-considered, it's sad to see the passing of someone who truly challenged his readers.