Kenny Mathieson is the author of Giant Steps: Bebop and the Creators of Modern Jazz 1945-1965 and Cookin': Hard Bop and Soul Jazz 1954-65. He was born near Glasgow, and now lives in the Highlands of Scotland. He studied American and English literature at the University of East Anglia, graduating with a PhD in 1983. He has been a freelance writer since 1982, and writes on jazz, classical and folk music for several publications, as well as contributing to numerous reference books.