Jazz aficionados and educators are invited to a special event on Thursday, March 21, when Emory University professor and jazz pianist Gary Motley will launch his new book with a panel discussion that includes jazz luminaries.
The panel discussion, moderated by WABE radio’s Lois Reitzes, will begin at 5 p.m. Following the discussion, a book signing will be held at 6 p.m. and reception at 6:30 p.m. The book will be sold at the event. All activities will be in the Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library, on Level 10 of the Woodruff Library on Emory’s Atlanta campus.
The events are open to the public at no charge. Guests can register to attend the in-person event or to watch the panel discussion online.
Motley’s new book, “Harmonic Development and Contrapuntal Techniques for the Jazz Pianist,” is based on his experience-based approach to learning and will serve as the backdrop for the broader panel discussion on jazz music preservation and pedagogy.
Motley is a jazz pianist, teacher, performer, composer, arranger and author who has been a prominent figure in the jazz scene of the southeastern United States since he started his solo career in 1994. He is a professor of practice and the founding director of jazz studies at Emory University.
Other panelists joining Motley include:
- Jazzmeia Horn, a vocalist, composer, author, activist, educator and multi-Grammy Award nominee. She is the winner of the 2015 Thelonious Monk Institute International Jazz Competition and the 2013 Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition.
- Dwight Andrews, a composer, musician, educator and minister. He is professor of music theory and African American music at Emory University and senior minister of First Congregational United Church of Christ in Atlanta. He served as music director for the Broadway productions of August Wilson's “Ma Rainey's Black Bottom” and “Joe Turner's Come and Gone.” His film credits include PBS Hollywood’s “The Old Settler,” the documentary films “W.E.B. DuBois: A Biography in Four Voices” and “Louise Alone Thompson: In Her Own Words,” Hallmark Hall of Fame’s “The Piano Lesson” and HBO’s “Miss Evers’ Boys.”
- Sam Yi, an entrepreneur who has dedicated himself to the proliferation of Atlanta jazz for more than 30 years. He is the founder of Churchill Grounds, a nationally recognized café and jazz music venue that operated successfully in Atlanta for almost 20 years. In 2017, he received the Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Heroes award, an honor bestowed upon “activists, advocates, altruists, aiders and abettors of jazz who have had significant impact in their local communities.”
- Moderator Lois Reitzes, an Atlanta NPR radio show host, best known for her work on WABE-FM 90.1's “City Lights with Lois Reitzes” and “Second Cup Concert.” Known for her support of the Atlanta arts scene, she has been a host with WABE since 1979, making her the longest-running voice in Atlanta radio.
The event is sponsored by Emory Initiative for Arts and Humanistic Inquiry, Fox Center for Humanistic Inquiry, the Hightower Fund, Emory Libraries and Emory Jazz Alliance.
The Rose Library is located on Level 10 of Emory University’s Woodruff Library, 540 Asbury Cir., Atlanta, GA 30322. Parking is available in the Fishburne parking deck. For more information, email Emory Libraries or call 404-727-7683.
Writing a Book on Jazz (Piano): Book launch and talk with Gary Motley, Jazzmeia Horn and Lois ReitzesThursday, March 21, 2024 Rose Library, Woodruff Library Level 10 5 p.m. panel and book signing 6:30 p.m. reception |