In 1957, Duke Ellington released the influential album A Drum Is a Woman. This musical allegory revealed the implicit truth about the role of women in jazz discourse-jilted by the musician and replaced by the drum. Further, the album's cover displays an image of a woman sitting atop a drum, depicting the way in which the drum literally obscures ......
In the late 1970s legendary pianist Bill Evans was at the peak of his career. He revolutionized the jazz trio (bass, piano, drums) by giving each part equal emphasis in what jazz historian Ted Gioia called a "telepathic level" of interplay. It was an ideal opportunity for a sideman, and after auditioning in 1978, Joe La Barbera was ecstatic when ......
The New Yorker recently referred to Pat Metheny as 'possibly the most influential jazz guitarist of the past five decades.' A native of Lee's Summit, Missouri, just southeast of Kansas City, Metheny started playing in pizza parlors at age fourteen. By the time he graduated from high school he was the first-call guitarist for Kansas City jazz ......
African American Islam, Jazz, and Black Internationalism
"Black Fundamentalists illuminates how early twentieth century fundamentalism manifested in unique ways across the color line, illustrating how racial context, racial identity, and concerns for racial justice can shape religious expression even within theologically conservative traditions"--
Celebrity, Patriarchy, and American Theater, 1790-1850
Women performers played a vital role in the development of American and transatlantic entertainment, celebrity culture, and gender ideology. Sara E. Lampert examines the lives, careers, and fame of overlooked figures from Europe and the United States whose work in melodrama, ballet, and other stage shows shocked and excited early U.S. ......
The jazz musician-composer-arranger Mary Lou Williams spent her sixty-year career working in'and stretching beyond'a dizzying range of musical styles. Her integration of classical music into her works helped expand jazz's compositional language. Her generosity made her a valued friend and mentor to the likes of Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, and ......
Celebrity, Patriarchy, and American Theater, 1790-1850
Women performers played a vital role in the development of American and transatlantic entertainment, celebrity culture, and gender ideology. Sara E. Lampert examines the lives, careers, and fame of overlooked figures from Europe and the United States whose work in melodrama, ballet, and other stage shows shocked and excited early U.S. ......
Original jelly roll blues -- What did I do to be so black and blue? -- One o'clock jump -- Hothouse -- We speak African! -- Lullabye of birdland -- Haitian fight song -- Kind of blue -- I wish I knew how it would feel to be free -- Song for Che -- The blues and the abstract truth.
Jazz Artists and Writers in the Civil Rights Vanguard
Explore how jazz legends and literary icons united art and activism, shaping the civil rights movement and transforming American culture during the pivotal period between 1955 and 1965. Art and Activism explores the powerful, symbiotic relationships among artists such as Nina Simone, Abbey Lincoln, and Lena Horne and their literary ......
