Steve Fishell, author of Buddy Emmons: Steel Guitar Icon, answers questions on his scholarly influences, discoveries, and reader takeaways from his new book. Q: Why did you decide to write […]
Q&A with Steve Fishell, author of BUDDY EMMONS
Tag: jazz
Throwbacklist Thursday: The Bastille Library
To commemorate Bastille Day, the University of Illinois Press celebrates its backlist of books on France and the French. Le Jazz: Jazz and French Cultural Identity, by Matthew F. Jordan […]
200 Years of Illinois: Miles to East St. Louis
The world changed on May 26, 1926, for on that day Miles Davis entered the world in Alton. The Davises initially lived at 1112 Milnor Street. When Miles was two, […]
Bird’s birthday brings celebration to Kansas City
On August 29, 1920 Charles Parker, Jr. was born in Kansas City, Kansas. As Chuck Haddix writes in Bird: The Life and Music of Charlie Parker, the jazz icon’s launching […]
Carla Bley: a jazz master examined
Amy C. Beal’s Carla Bley is an in-depth look at a the innovative jazz icon know for, among other things, her involvement in the Free Jazz movement. As Amy Beal writes […]
Happy Saxophone Day: celebrate with the re-inventor
On November 6, 1814 Adophe Sax was born in Wallonia, Belgium. Sax invented many musical instruments but the one for which he is best known (and has immortalized his name) […]
Happy “Bird”-day
Jazz innovator Charlie “Bird” Parker was born on August 29, 1920 in Kansas City. Before his death at age 34, Parker transformed jazz with harmonic creativity and complex melodic saxophone lines. […]
Mancini’s Pink Panther hits 50
In the spring and summer of 1964, the Blake Edwards film The Pink Panther, starring Peter Sellers, became a huge hit. The farcical tale of an incompetent French detective matching wits with a […]
Fred Ho dies at 56
Composer, saxophonist, author and activist Fred Ho passed away over the weekend. A foremost voice in the history of West Coast Asian American jazz, the East Coast avant-garde, and numerous […]
Jazz saxophonist and UIP author Joe Evans, 1916-2014
Accomplished jazzman Joseph James Evans passed away on January 17, 2014 at age 97. His autobiography, Follow Your Heart: Moving with the Giants of Jazz, Swing, and Rhythm and Blues (written […]
Bird the book and Bird the man celebrated with all-star jam
On October 2nd, 2013, jazz historian, radio show host and UIP author Chuck Haddix kicked off the release of his book Bird: The Life and Music of Charlie Parker in style at […]
Happy birthday, Charlie Parker
Jazz giant Charlie “Bird” Parker was born on August 29, 1920 in Kansas City. During his short life—he died at age 34—Parker became one of the most influential figures in […]