The human brain is incredibly powerful. It controls every function of our bodies, allows us to reason, and permits us to both create and appreciate art. To do so, it uses 100 billion neurons, each of which fires around 200 times every second. Given its necessary complexity, it should come as no surprise how frequently […]
2020 was a pivotal year in the history of civil rights. While a prominent case, George Floyd’s murder was no more the beginning of the struggle than his killer’s conviction was its end. Racial justice has served as a central impetus throughout much of the lineage of Black American Music, from Fats Waller’s “Black and […]
After a year canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic, the historic Newport Jazz Festival has announced it will be presenting the 2021 Festival at its home for the past four decades, Fort Adams State Park. To ensure safety, however, it will be scaled back from its usual scope. Four stages will be reduced to two, and […]
On February 1, 1968, a malfunctioning garbage truck fatally crushed two black Memphis sanitation workers – Echol Cole and Robert Walker. Their passing was in many ways directly the fault of Henry Loeb, the city’s white supremacist mayor. Loeb previously served as the Memphis’ Public Works Commissioner, a role in which he undertook several steps […]
In his early writings, philosopher Søren Kierkegaard utilized various pseudonyms to present distinctive viewpoints and to interact with each other in complex dialogues. Throughout its history, jazz musicians have also adopted similar approaches – particularly relying on cosmic iconography – to better push their personal creative boundaries. One recent example is the three members of […]
