Growing up near Los Angeles he wanted to be a jazz journalist early, discovering Dixieland in the Danny Kaye movie The Five Pennies and on a daily radio show while in high school. He soon broadened his tastes to the swing idiom and in college, after purchasing a Charlie Parker album that included "White Christmas" (which made it easier for him to appreciate bebop), he soon developed a strong taste and musical curiosity for all eras of jazz, from dixieland to the avant-garde, fusion to modern jazz.

Shortly after graduating from college, Yanow became the jazz editor for Record Review, being a major participant in all 33 of its issues. Since Record Review closed up shop in June 1984, Yanow has written for many jazz magazines and arts magazines including Jazz Times, Jazziz, Downbeat, Cadence, Coda and the Los Angeles Jazz Scene. In recent times, Yanow was interviewed on-camera by CNN about the Monterey Jazz Festival and by Arts & Entertainment for their televised American Masters biography on Dizzy Gillespie.

Yanow was a contributor to and co-editor of the third edition of the All Music Guide to Jazz. He contributed thousands of additional CD reviews to the third edition, becoming sole editor. He is one of the most prolific jazz record reviewers in history. He continues to contribute to Allmusic website.

In addition to his work for the All Music Guide to Jazz, Yanow has written ten books on jazz (see bibliography below).

Yanow has penned over 600 liner notes for many record labels. He has also written artist biographies and press releases for record labels, public relations firms and individual artists.

Yenow has produced a series of CDs for Allegro, worked as a consultant to other labels about their reissue projects, hosted a regular radio show (Jazz After Hours) for KCSN-FM, and worked as the jazz listings editor for the Los Angeles Times.

Books

The Jazz Singers

• Jazz On Film
• Duke Ellington
• Swing
• Bebop
• Afro-Cuban Jazz, ISBN 087930619X (2000)
• Trumpet Kings
• Classic Jazz
• Jazz: A Regional Exploration
• Jazz On Record 1917-76

Contributions to Magazines

• Record Review
• Coda
• Down Beat
• Jazz Times
• JAZZIZ
• Cadence
• The Mississippi Rag
• Jazz Forum
• Jazz News
• The Jazz Report
• Planet Jazz
• Jazz Now
• Jazz Improv
• The Los Angeles Jazz Scene

Contributions to Record Labels

• Concord Records
• Naxos Records
• Enja
• Pablo Records
• Arbors Records
• Evidence
• V.S.O.P.
• Good Time Jazz
• Reservoir
• Storyville Records
• JVC
• Challenge Records
• Starline
• Candid Records
• Soundies
• Woofy
• Brownstone
• Fuel 2000
• Jazzed Media
• Collectors Classics
• Allegro