The legendary Francisco Aguabella (1925-2010) was an Afro-Cuban percussionist and master sacred drummer of the Santeria religion. Aguabella was born in Matanzas, Cuba, but immigrated to California in 1953 to work with dancer and choreographer Katherine Dunham on the movie Mambo. He went on to
From the 1920s through the early 1950s, Central Avenue was the economic and social center for African American Los Angeles. It was also a hub for all Southern Californians who wanted to hear the latest and best in jazz.
It all began as an assignment for Ethnomusicology 205. The two archivists (Aaron and Maureen) suggested archival collections to research that might specifically interest each student in the class. For Marc Bolin, we could think of no better choice than the
Don Ellis (1934-1978) was a jazz trumpeter, composer and bandleader. Ellis won a Grammy in 1972 for Best Instrumental Arrangement for the Theme From The French Connection. He is probably best known for his extensive musical experimentation. Ellis’ rhythmic innovations came as a direct result of his studies in non-Western music
James Arkatov was born in 1920 in Odessa, Russia and raised in San Francisco, where his father, Alexander Arkatov, owned a photography salon. In 1938, he was invited by Fritz Feiner to join the Pittsburgh Symphony. Later, he joined the San Francisco Symphony with Pierre Monteux, and went on to be principal cellist of the
Editor's Note: The following is an excerpt from a longer essay on improvised music spaces in Egypt that will be published in October as part of the Sounding Board's forthcoming collaboration with IASPM-US.
People Get Ready: The Future of Jazz Is Now! Ajay Heble and Rob Wallace, eds. Durham: Duke University Press, 2013.
“Thus it is in our own roles as teachers, musicians, and scholars that we come to this project with passion, energy, and love. The creation of this book has been a collaboration called and responded to one another in both music and in writing, as we have developed this volume.”
As a part of their June series "Music Scenes," the website for US Branch of the International Association for the Study of Popular Music has recently posted a pair of essays on jazz and space that speak to one another in a way that ethnomusicologists may find useful.
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