John Mehegan gigged around Massachusetts and in 1941 moved to New York. He recorded four songs as a leader for Savoy in 1945 and worked as a pianist, educator (teaching at Juilliard starting in 1947), and occasional writer throughout the 1950s. That decade was his most active period as a player; he recorded four albums for Savoy from 1954 to 1956 with a quartet, with a trio, as a piano soloist, and in a trio with fellow pianist Eddie Costa and bassist Vinnie Burke. In 1959, he teamed up with trumpeter Kenny Dorham for a record date for the Request label. That year, he toured South Africa (recording with a young Hugh Masekela for the obscure Gallo-Continental label) but ran into trouble with the authorities for "fraternizing" with Black musicians. Mehegan's last recordings took place in 1960 (a few titles with a trio), but he kept active as an educator during his last two decades. John Mehegan published many instructional books on jazz, wrote reviews for Down Beat and other magazines, and was a busy lecturer on jazz and improvisation. ~ Scott Yanow