Phil Elwood, the Bay Area's preeminent music critic passed away January 10th at age 79. The cause was heart failure. Elwood was a clarion voice for the music-making profession for more than half a century.

But play no dirge for Phil at his going away. Although he loved the blues, his life was much too upbeat to have a mournful tune as his last request. Phil would much prefer something by Duke Ellington or Count Basie with a long solo by Sonny Rollins or John Handy and a few licks by "Sweets" Edison to back up a set of jazzy arias by June Christie and Ella Fitzgerald and maybe Frank Sinatra. Those were some of the important people of his life about whom he wrote for more than 60 years.

Many people say they love their work but when Phil said it you believed him immediately. He could talk your arm off about a concert by the Grateful Dead he attended a decade ago or about the first time he heard pianist Larry Vukovich or The Modern Jazz Quartet. And he could rhapsodize about talented local singers like Denise Perrier and Kim Nalley. If you were in a hurry, you'd be late, because that was Phil Elwood in his element. .

Jon Hendricks said: "Phil was the quintessential jazz critic. Most critics love the music but Phil knew the music as well." .

Elwood took pleasure as an advocate, spreading the news of a talented player or singer he discovered, or promoting a deserving but unnoticed artist, or helping some luckless player get his career back on track. His reputation was firmly established when he became music critic for the Examiner in the 1960's and then for the Chronicle in a career that spanned 36 years as a writer for newspapers. .

The artists reciprocated his love of the craft. He was the recipient of the 2003 Jazz Beacon award given by the music industry for a lifetime of work as a "revered jazz historian, educator and broadcaster," among many honors he received. He was a proselytizer, historian and teacher for Jazz. .

Elwood was born in Berkeley in 1926 and except for service in the Navy he never left the Bay Area for long. He hosted a weekly radio program on KPFA called "Jazz Archive" that began in 1952 and ran for 40 years. He, of course, was an esteemed member of the Broadcast Legends. .

Elwood's love of music started at the age of 12 when he began a collection of penny apiece 78 records scrounged from junkshops. He started writing about music while in the Navy during World War II. Although.

The Blues and Jazz were his first loves, friends say he had a tender place for all music genres from Rock and Roll to Judy Garland. .

He will be missed by music makers and music lovers alike.