OXFORD,Miss. – The annual Living Blues Symposium next week at the University
of Mississippi delves into all aspects of documenting the blues. It is
sponsored by Living Blues magazine , which is published at UM.
The
Feb. 26-27 symposium features a campus ceremony by the Mississippi
Blues Commission dedicating UM’s Living Blues Trail Marker , an address
by David Evans as the Early Wright keynote speaker, a preview of Alan
Lomax Recordings from the university’s Blues Archive and a jam session
with the audience. A special edition of Thacker Mountain Radio also is
planned.
Lectures, panel discussions and the dedication ceremony are free and
open to the public. The marker dedication is scheduled 11 a.m. Feb. 27
on the Barnard Observatory lawn. View a schedule.
Living Blues was founded in Chicago in 1970 and was acquired by UM’s
Center for the Study of Southern Culture in 1983. It is the nation’s
longest running blues magazine. The Blues Archive in the J.D. Williams
Library is one of the world’s largest blues collections.
Interesting discussions are planned throughout the two-day symposium,
said Mark Camarigg, publications manager for Living Blues.
“We will have a field recording panel discussion with George Mitchell and University of Georgia art professor Art Rosenbaum ,” Camarigg said. “Mitchell was the first to record R.L. Burnside in 1967, and Rosenbaum received a Grammy award for his recent box set, ‘Art Of Field Recording Volume I: Fifty Years Of Traditional American Music Documented By Art Rosenbaum’.”
At noon Thursday in Barnard Observatory, Evan Hatch begins the symposium with a brown bag lecture on “John Work and Field Recording.” Hatch is a 2002 graduate of UM with a master’s degree in Southern studies. His primary interest is in documentary work, honing his skill in oral histories and photography.
At 6 p.m. Thursday at the Lyric Theatre, 1006 Van Buren Ave., the “Thacker Mountain Radio Show ” includes musical guests Mississippi hill country bluesman Kenny Brown and juke joint duo Cedric Burnside and Lightnin’ Malcolm, along with field recordist Art Rosenbaum and blues scholar George Mitchell.
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Later Thursday evening, at 9, the Highway 61 Radio blues party is hosted at the Powerhouse, 413 S. 14thSt. Music will be provided by David Evans, George Mitchell, Jake Fussell and others.
At 9:30 a.m. Friday in the UM Blues Archive , blues curator Greg Johnson will unveil some newly digitized audio and video from the Alan Lomax Archive. He will also participate in a panel discussion with George Mitchell, Art Rosenbaum and Sy Oliver at 2:30 p.m.in Barnard Observatory.
This year’s symposium examines the documentation of blues music, as gathered by ethnomusicologists, photographers, record producers, historians and authors, Johnson said.
“Much of what we know about the history and development of blues music and culture was passed along to us through the research of David Evans, George Mitchell, Alan Lomax, Jim O’Neal and others,” Johnson said. “We’ll be able to hear stories from the pioneering days of recording previously unheard musicians for scholarly and commercial purposes. We’ll hear how academic and fan-based pursuits of the blues exposed this music to worldwide audiences.”
The keynote address by University of Memphis professor David Evans is set for 1:30 p.m. Friday at Barnard Observatory. The lecture, “Blues Field Work 1960s and ’70s,” focuses on Evans’ career at that time.
He directs the ethnomusicology/regional studies doctoral program of the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music at the University of Memphis. He is a specialist in American folk and popular music, particularly blues, spirituals, gospel, and African American folk music. He is the author of “Tommy Johnson” (London: Studio Vista, 1971), “Big Road Blues: Tradition and Creativity in the Folk Blues” (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1982) and “The NPR Curious Listener’s Guide to the Blues” (New York: Perigee, 2005).
Evans has also produced more than 30 albums and compact discs of field and studio recordings of music for the University of Memphis’ High Water Records. In 2003 he won a Grammy award for “Best Album Notes.”
The symposium culminates with a performance by Mavis Staples at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts. Staples, a soul and gospel legend, possesses one of the most recognizable and treasured voices in contemporary music. From her early days sharing lead vocals with her groundbreaking family gospel group, The Staple Singers, to her storied solo recordings, she is an inspirational force in modern popular culture and music.
The Staples concert is part of the Ford Center’s Heritage Series concerts, which celebrates artists who have contributed to the musical heritage of the nation. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased separately by calling 662-915-2787.
The music continues on the Oxford Square at Rooster’s Blues Club, 114 Courthouse Square, Thursday and Friday beginning at 10 p.m.
Other sponsors of the symposium include the University of Mississippi’s Department of Archives and Special Collections, Oxford Convention and Visitors Bureau, Yoknapatawpha Arts Council, Mississippi Development Authority and Austin’s Music.
For more information or to request assistance related to a disability, call 662-915-5742 or e-mail info@livingblues.com