Writing a Book on Jazz (Piano): Book launch and conversation

For virtual viewing of the panel discussion, please join using this link: https://emory.zoom.us/j/93470410589

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’s Lois Reitzes, will take place from 5 – 6 p.m. in the Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library, on Level 10 of the Woodruff Library on the Emory University campus. The book will be sold at the event, and a book signing will begin at 6 p.m. A reception will follow.

The events are open to the public at no charge.

Based on Motley’s experience-based approach to learning, his new book, “Harmonic Development and Contrapuntal Techniques for the Jazz Pianist” will serve as the backdrop for the broader panel discussion on jazz music preservation and pedagogy.

Motley is a jazz pianist, teacher, 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 him include:

Jazzmeia Horn is 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 is 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 is an entrepreneur who has dedicated himself to the proliferation of Atlanta jazz for over 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, an honor bestowed upon “activists, advocates, altruists, aiders and abettors of jazz who have had significant impact in their local communities.”

Moderator Lois Reitzes is 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.” Well 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 Rose Library is located on Level 10 of Emory University’s Woodruff Library, 540 Asbury Cir., Atlanta, GA 30322.

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.

Parking available in Fishburne parking deck. For more information, please contact eulibraries@emory.edu or 404-727-7683.