Felix Grant
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Felix Grant (1918 to 1993) was a disk jockey who specialized in jazz during a long career (1945 to 1993) on the radio and television in Washington, D.C. primarily on station WMAL, the local ABC affiliate. In addition to playing records, he was distinguished for his many interviews with performers. Many of those interviews were recorded and are now retained in the Felix E. Grant Collection, held at the University of the District of Columbia. The collection also includes many other materials collected by Grant during his nearly 50 year career on the radio. “Access to the digital audio files in this collection is restricted to registered patrons in good standing of institutions that are members of the Washington Research Library Consortium.”
Grant is also generally accepted as the person who introduced Brazilian music (primarily bossa nova) to the US community of performers and listeners. See, for example, C. McGowan and R. Pessamba, "The Billboard Book of Brazilian Music, page 8, published by Guinness, 1991.
His other credits included Brazil's highest award, the Order of the Southern Cross; recognition from the DC government, including plaques, proclamations, and the designation of Felix Grant Day in 1985; and the naming for him of a music-radio library at the University of Jamaica. He was chairman of the Brazilian-American Cultural Institute and president of Partners of Brasilia. He established the Felix E. Grant Scholarship Fund at UDC.
