Call for Proposals: Making the Jazz Gumbo

An international conference on repertoires that Influenced and were influenced by early jazz and celebrating the 100^th Anniversary of the death of James Reese Europe, presented by the Historic Brass Society with support from the City University Of New York Graduate Center

May 8, 2019

CUNY Graduate Center, New York City

As with a great gumbo, the creation of musical genres involve the mix of many elements. Some of those elements have been downplayed in jazz history. This conference aims to address those shortcomings and will focus on musical styles that helped create and were influenced by jazz. Special focus will be placed on James Reese Europe and the Harlem Hell Fighters who created a link between ragtime and early jazz as well as what Jelly Roll Morton intriguingly called “That Spanish tinge.” Exploration of cross-influences from Latin American music will be explored, most notably, early Cuban repertoire. Brazilian choro, maxixe and other styles as well as repertoire from Puerto Rico, and Mexico will be included. Music and history of composers such as Louis Moreau Gottschalk and Ernesto Nazareth will also be represented.

The conference will end with a period-instrument concert of the music of James Reese Europe and the Harlem Hell Fighters as well as late 19^th and early 20^th century music of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Brazil and works by Gottschalk and Nazareth and others.

Proposals for papers on those and related topics will be considered for inclusion in the conference.

Send proposals by January 1, 2019 to

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