Traditional Jazz: A Historical Perspective of Early Jazz from the New Orleans and Chicago Era

Led by Dr. John Cooper, faculty Emeritus from Western Illinois University, this presentation will engage listeners through playing literature common to the New Orleans Era of Jazz. Musicians will perform in a collective improvisational texture on instruments common to the genre. The audience will engage in lecture material describing the role of each instrument in the ensemble citing notable historical musicians and musical examples. Performers will demonstrate techniques on their instrument that are common to this style. Audience members will be encouraged to ask questions of any of the musicians during the lecture portion of the performance.

Jazz is a music best enjoyed in live performance. Audiences are usually encouraged to applaud soloists and clap rhythmically during performances. In this way, much like dancing, participants feel the music in a very subjective manner. This has always been one of the very special elements of Jazz and any understanding of it must come through experiencing the phenomenon. The presentation seeks to develop this connection with audience members and help them understand the special nature and joy of Jazz.

This event is generously sponsored by the Illinois Humanities "Road Scholars Speakers Bureau" in which speakers travel across Illinois to bring art, culture, history, and contemporary social issues to life, making the humanities accessible to all!

Illinois Humanities is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy Demands Wisdom and the Illinois General Assembly [through the Illinois Arts Council Agency], as well as by contributions from individuals, foundations, and corporations.